SAO Down-under
by Council
Summary: Kayaba, the creator of SAO, sent versions of his death game to different countries. One such version arrived in Melbourne, Australia. How will Richard, once an ordinary teenager but now known as Sirius, cope when he succumbs to the despondent realization of death far earlier than any other player possibly could. (originally known as SAO: Australia)
1. Prelude

Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online, or any of the characters or designs associated with it.

* * *

Kayaba Akihiko relaxed in his well worn, dark leather chair, that squeaked every time he leant back on it. His female assistant, Koujiro Rinko, would often speak her distaste of it. Kayaba liked to call it his "throne". A rather fitting name, he thought, for what he had in mind.

Koujiro was waiting for the day she could burn it.

Kayaba was currently immersed within his countless computer screens, screens that, although he has lived so much of his life staring at, would soon become obsolete.

At least, that was the plan. Nerve Gear was on the brink of becoming immersed and essential to the population. Of course, Nerve Gear had been out for a while. It's just that no one had yet to achieve its full potential. Kayaba mused, not even he had.

His chair squeaked as he leant back and sighed. He would never be around to witness the growth of Nerve Gear. That he was certain of. He had personally ensured his own demise.

But Kayaba had to ensure that Nerve Gear would prosper after he was gone. He was sure that after his little stunt he was about to pull, The Japanese would more or less illegalize Nerve Gear. What Kayaba needed were more foundations, more pillars of support, so that even if one country illegalized Nerve Gear, others might maintain it.

Kayaba's eyes flickered to the monitor to his right as a new message icon appeared. He smirked, speak of the devil. Nigel Newcombe, his connection in Australia, has sent him a message confirming the installation of the program. Kayaba had agreed with Nigel when he suggested confining the Nerve Gears to a single city, in particular, Melbourne, an incredibly diverse city of many different ethnic groups. Nigel's reasoning was that when the… accident happened, it would be a simpler, and more plausible task ensuring the safety of the participants. Nigel's argument had been,

"Bloody hell mate, do you really want me to trek across a whole fucking desert and one big fucking rock for that one poor bloke who'll end up in the middle of fuck knows where?"

Kayaba had not laughed. He was not the laughing type. But he did smile. Slightly. If you can consider the twitch at the end of his lips a smile. Koujiro would have told you that it was just the cold. She could have been right.

She was probably right.

The chair squeaked again, but this time Kayaba was sighing in relief. With the confirmation of Australia, Kayaba had confirmed that all 6 pillars of Nerve Gear had been established. All pillars would be separated from one another completely, with no form of contact whatsoever. He did not want communication between the different worlds at all.

Kayaba hummed tunelessly to himself. Everything was running on schedule. His chair squeaked one last time as he stood up from it. He turned off his monitors, and picked up his small travel bag. He looked longingly at his chair. He highly considered taking it with him to his small cottage, but thought better of it.

He was going to have a much more magnificent throne soon.

Kayaba Akihiko smiled.

Sword Art Online was scheduled for release in 24 hours.

* * *

The cold Melbourne wind whipped through the open window, and brusquely awoke me, Richard Bright, from my daze. I shivered from the winter wind that had nipped me awake, and returned my gaze to the front the classroom. My eyes lazily peeled open, revealing light gray eyes, filled with exhaustion, and tinted with blue. I yawned, and glanced down at my watch. Ten more minutes, and I would be free, free from the hierarchy of teachers and school advisors.

I ran my hand through my short cropped, dirty blond hair, and once I had confirmed that the hair at my front was pushed up, and in moderately looking condition, I glanced around the room. My long slender fingers tapped at the desk in a rhythmical pattern, as I looked, once again, for my friend, Matthew, who was absent.

I sighed and rubbed my hand against my jaw, feeling the rough, unshaven, chinstrap styled facial hair I had been experimenting with. Along with my short hair, I thought it looked great. Not up to the expectations of a model, I mused, but not bad at all. I yawned again, as my concentration faded, and I once more began to doze off.

I was in my last year of high school, and at 18 years old, had lost almost all motivation to simply care what happened in school anymore.

I was quickly awakened to the world again as the teacher threw my test paper down on my table. I glanced at the results, 84/100. I smiled briefly. I wasn't the smartest student in my class, but I was definitely near the top. I looked around at a few other students, who I wouldn't necessarily call friends, more like acquaintances, and they gave me thumbs up.

I was certain that they would have scored higher than me; I had helped teach them half the concepts on this test. I was notorious for being a great teacher, on almost all subjects. Except history, people practically ran in fear when I begun to talk about history, lest they hear a version more closely related to a fairy tail than real life.

My classmates often joked about how "Richard the teacher's" grades were often, worse than the grade of those that I taught. I sighed, I understood the concepts the best, and could explain them in a way that made sense to a 12 year old, but when it came to putting those concepts to practice...

I would make miniscule errors, plug in the wrong values at different places, or mix up the first and the second. My friend Matthew often told me it was because I handed out all my luck freely to everyone else, and left myself with nothing but my own bad luck.

I preferred this explanation. I'd rather I have bad luck, and everyone else have good luck, then vice versa.

The bell rang, and I stood up, crumpled the test into my backpack, swung my leather jacket around myself and stood up, stretching my legs and pushing the limitations that my current worn out jeans presented me with. I briskly walked out of the room, but made sure to duck my head before going through the door. Being 6'4, just over 190 cm, came with its benefits and disadvantaged.

Me, and my head, definitely had a problem with doors, and it had yet to be resolved, despite our countless physical encounters.

As I begun to walk down the stairs to the ground level, I felt an impact against my back, and struggled to not fall down the stairs.

"Richarrdddd!" Rebecca shouted, gaining more than a few glances from the surrounding students. I tried not to laugh, and instead act sternly and disappointed, despite enjoying the rather pleasant feeling her large chest was leaving on my back.

"We've been over this Rebecca," I exclaimed "Your boyfriend isn't very ah… particular to these kind of actions"

"Oh, what he doesn't know won't hurt", she said laughing, while her chest length, dark chestnut hair flew across my face as she swung her head around.

"Speak of the devil," I said smirking, as I spied a black haired individual walking up the stairs. Here's Daniel, I though to myself. I leaned forward slightly, swung Rebecca around my back, and held her in my arms against my chest, unknowingly hitting several annoyed passer-bys in the process.

Rebecca giggled, and was about to say something, before she was interrupted by a scream of her own, as she was launched out of my arms, into the surprised body of Daniel, who managed to catch her despite this.

"Control that damn woman, Daniel," I shouted.

"Me control her? I barely caught her that time, control yourself!"

"It's not my fault she weighs that much"

Rebecca begun staring daggers at me, and if she were not entangled within Daniels arms right now, she would punch me so hard my soul would tremble. Instead, she gave me one last death glare, which assured me that my punishment would arrive later, and proceeded to beat up Daniel, the only person within her reach.

I laughed as I hopped down the stairs and around the flirtatious couple.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I shouted at them, rushing off so I could find Matthew.

They both looked at each other and smirked. "You'd be surprised honey," shouted Rebecca, "Yeah, you bumb ditch" Daniel continued.

"Oh shut up you damn romantic."

Daniel and I laughed at our friendly banter, before proceeding to head off in our separate directions.

I left the school building, and proceeded to make my way across the campus, making small talk with various groups of people along the way. I didn't have many people I would consider "friends", but I was a social enough person that I seemed to be able to get along with everyone at my school.

All in all, my life was rather perfect at this point in time.

* * *

I met Matthew at his apartment, which was relatively close to mine. He was Caucasian, his mother Chinese, and his dad from America, and for some reason, probably because of his Dad's business, was living in Melbourne, Australia. He was tall, at least 6 feet, but still short compared to me. He had hazel eyes, and average length messy black hair that refused to stay put. He opened the door for me wearing a loose collared shirt with black pants, looking very much like a businessman.

"Richard," he shouted loudly.

"Matthew." I shouted back.

We clasped hands quickly, before rushing inside to observe his findings.

"So, you got it right", I asked excitedly.

"Damn right I did" he responded, pointed at three unopened boxes, and one opened box, which had wires and instruction pamphlets spooling out if it. More impressive, was the sleek metallic helmet that was resting on Matthews pillow. It was smooth to touch, flawless, as if it could harbor no faults or dangers.

Matthew and I looked at each other, smiled, and nodded appreciatively, both understanding exactly what the other was thinking.

We couldn't wait to put on the helmet, and play the limited edition release game, Sword Art Online (SAO).

"So how was the line" I asked him, "For the Nerve Gear"

"It was awesome man, I mean, the babes were everywhere, it was just… you had to be there man." He said shaking his head. I was surprised that there had been "babes" there at all, considering the line was for a video game console. But, I guess video games do attract people of all aspects. Especially a video game as advanced and detailed as SAO was supposed to be.

"Here's the notes I took for you while you were away buying the game", I explained, handing him a file of papers, "and here's the money for buying SAO and the Nerve Gear for me", as I handed a substantially large amount over. I prayed that the game would not let me down after I had invested this much money into it.

"Thanks man, thanks", he said, happily accepting the money, while throwing the notes on the ground mercilessly. He picked up a box from the pile of three, and handed it to me.

"Who are the other boxes for?" I asked, curious as to whom it could be.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out," he said smirking. "Now hurry up and set up man, opening starts in one hour".

* * *

The Nerve Gear was all set up at my place within 40 minutes, and SAO had just finished installing as I brought my dinner up to my room, re-heated curry from last nights dinner, and freshly cooked rice from a rice cooker, an invention almost as significant as cup noodles. Almost. My parents wouldn't be back tonight until late, they were at some sort of fancy ball. I didn't mind. Although I loved being around them, tonight, I wanted to be able to play SAO without any interruptions.

As I started spooning the curry into my mouth with one hand, I examined the Nerve Gear with my other. I had previously done the calibrations for my body. With a sensor in each hand, I was asked to touch various parts of my body. The machine was very accurate, expertly determining my height.

It made me wonder however, why this was necessary, as almost everyone would be customizing an avatar that would have different heights and proportions to their real body. That was one of the most invigorating parts of SAO, the ability to create a brand new persona that you don't just control from a computer, but lived in, and fought as.

The Nerve Gear was currently not attached to any power outsource, however, it has been previously charged for the good part of an hour, and the battery life was already significantly charged, with a surprisingly long life time. The Nerve Gear was definitely an example of mankind's most advanced technology.

I finished the last of my curry and proceeded to down my glass of water. I pulled off my shirt, slipped my belt off, but kept my jeans on, and rolled onto my bed. My fingers grasped the smooth edge of the Nerve Gear, and I slid it over my head. I shivered as the cold metal touched my cheek and ears. I never thought that the Nerve Gear would feel so… imprisoning.

It was fine though, soon I would be off to a brand new world, and if I truly had the time to reminisce about the real world while absorbed in SAO…

Then it would have to be a pretty horrid game.

As I look back, the last phrase that I would probably ever speak out of my real body was…

"Link Start!"

* * *

**Done, well, the prelude at least. I doubt I'll get any reviews this early, and if I do, they'll probably complain about how boring this is, and how boring the characters are. I might as well tell you now, all characters will be OC, Sorry :( I'm sure I love the original cast just as much as you guys do, but I honestly feel like the original story has just been told too many times, and it needs a break from Kirito being… well… plain awesome.**

**All I ask is that you hang around. I aim to go through the journey of SAO pretty slowly, unlike in the anime and light novels, where they jump through years at some points… That annoyed me to no end.**

**Anyway, hang around; next week will hopefully be more interesting.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	2. Immersion

Once again, I do not own Sword Art Online, and I'm certain the world is better off this way.

* * *

I blinked several times trying to adjust to the endless white surrounding me. They could definitely have designed a more welcoming scene. Although I was obviously standing on something, as the pressure in my feet reminded me, I had trouble looking down without feeling nauseous from the absolute nothingness. It was like looking off a cliff at midnight, and it appears that there's nothing there but blackness. This time however, it was unnatural whiteness.

A floating, and what appeared to be glowing monitor without the physical frame, expanded in front of me from nothingness. It made a humming noise as it expanded, and ended with a soft chime as text begun to appear.

-Please enter your desired username-

Uhh, username, I had been thinking about that all day, but hadn't been able to come up with anything. I was the kind of person who would spend hours prolonging a game just because I couldn't create a desirable username.

It had been Matthew who had come up with the best name for me, however. Cursing my own increativity, I typed on the keyboard that had chimed into existence below the monitor. I was surprised when my fingers found resistance from the monitor that appeared to be formed by nothing but light.

"Sirius"

The brightest star in the night sky, reminiscent of my last name, Richard Star.

The monitor asked for variation, and I confirmed, and felt the glowing button click, before both the monitor and the keyboard were compressed into nonexistence silently.

I stood confused for a few seconds, wondering what to do next, when noises and lights begun to explode around me. I watched as near to 50 screens were stretched into existence, followed by strange electronic humming and chiming noises. Several of the larger mirrors acted as mirrors, reflecting my image onto them, while the others contained slide bars with labels on them, ranging from things like "height" and "weight", to "finger thickness" and "neck angle".

The first thing I noticed was the gender option, which although greatly intrigued me, I forced myself to ignore it.

I begun to play around with the sliders, but begun to feel sick as my body began changing drastically in front of me. It wasn't painful, or even unpleasant, just… unnatural. I kept my height, weight, and muscles the same, as I was worried how changing such physical properties of me would affect me in the real world.

I did change my face slightly, removing some of my "faults". I shortened my rather pointy nose, and trimmed my bushy eyebrows. I lengthened my hair, something I'd always wanted to do in the real world. It was such a shame that as soon as my hair grew long, it also grew outwards, making me look like an overgrown mushroom. My now long (and rather luscious) locks of hair ran down my neck to the tips of my shoulders. Now I was model material, I mused.

I confirmed my selection on one of the monitors, and winced as I watched and heard screens around me disappearing. I sure as hell hoped no epileptic kids were going to be playing this.

"Welcome!" a passive, female, obviously computer generated voice announcing from seemingly nowhere, but everywhere at the same time.

"To the world, of Sword Art Online!"

The world around me exploded into colours. I had thought the earlier screens had been bad. That was nothing compared to the dripping colours and pixels that merged, formed, and crackled all around me.

Good luck, epileptic kids.

Just as I was starting to nauseous, not for the first time today, I thought, slightly irritated, the colours stopped moving, and the world of SAO was visible.

I gaped, open mouthed, at the city that surrounded me that felt like it was based on the renaissance era of the middle ages. I was standing in the middle of a large plaza, big enough to easily hide an army. I would've been curious as to why one area would be so damn large, if it weren't for the thousands of other players occupying the area.

Some of them looked very much like I did right now, shocked. The world was simply so… real. The air tasted very different from Melbourne's air, but it wasn't an unpleasant taste. It was crisp and clean, a contrast to the plaza which appeared rather grimy and worn out. The sky was a mixture of wondrous blues, with light and pale clouds lazily drifting by, attempting to smother the sunlight, to no avail.

I looked down at my hands, and gripped them hard. It was real, all real, I thought as I slowly unclenched them. I released my loud and common laugh, gaining some smiling, knowing looks from several others nearby players. One of them raised their hand, calling me over to a small group that was gathered with him. I happily ran over, laughing as they laughed at my eagerness. They were all male characters except for one short female.

I had to remind myself that could very possible be another male. A rather disturbing thought.

All of the males were at least my height, most of them taller, reaching the grander 6'6 height. I wondered how many of them would be taller than me in real life.

The girl had pixie pink hair, along with chubby, yet cute cheeks. Rounded off with a chest that could put up a fight against Rebecca's, she was an incredibly beautiful avatar. Noticing my staring, she grabbed my hand.

"Hey hey, what's your name, what's your name", she asked, a bit too excitedly. She was bouncing on the heels of her feet as she said this, causing her chest to make rather… erotic movements.

I felt my face heat up and blush. I groaned silently, this must be one of those games, where emotions are displayed exaggeratedly.

"Sirius" I pronounced clearly, receiving a small look of admiration from the males. I smiled a bit, while mentally thanking Matthew for my username. "Where are we?" I asked, curious to learn more about the game.

"Starting City", one of the males said, with one eyebrow raised.

"Creative, huh", another said, his voiced laced with sarcasm. We all laughed, while one of the other males punched the speaker in the arm in mock play.

"We're currently on the first floor of the floating castle, Aincard," the male continued, "There are 100 floors, each with differing terrains and environments, and between each floor is a connecting dungeon, guarded by a boss. It's really quite the beautiful world. It's a shame they couldn't come up with better names for places."

"Oh stop bitching about the name, it's the only drawback we've seen so far," another male argued. "I mean, even the menu's are amazing," he continued, while placing his finger and thumb together into an "O", and flicking them outwards.

I blinked. Nothing happened.

They laughed at my confused expression. "You can't see other players screens unless they give you permission," the pixie girl (or man, I sullenly reminded myself) exclaimed.

My lips formed an "O" as I understood, while my finger and my thumb made a similar shape. As I flicked my fingers, I groaned as I heard the all too familiar hum and chime of a monitor appearing. Menu, appeared at the top of the monitor, while underneath, there were several options:

-Stats-

-Equipment-

-Inventory-

-Quests-

-Options-

-Relations-

-Exit-

There were several other titles that were blurred out, that I assumed would be available later on in the game. Before I examined my starting stats, equipment and inventory, I pressed –Options-, scrolled down to sound effects, and muted the menu effects. No more humming and chiming for me.

I then explored the other titles. My starting stats were listed out:

Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Dexterity: 5

Perception: 5

Vitality: 5

Luck: ?

I was interested in them, but as I was unsure as to what exactly each one would alter, I left it for later examination. Sure, strength would make stronger, but does that let me carry more, or make my attacks stronger. Or both. I couldn't wait until some players released a FAQ, or a basic guide. It appeared however, that the luck stat could not be altered, nor determined. Very interesting.

My inventory and equipment was much less interesting. My inventory consisted of three "weak health potions", one "home teleportation crystal", a loaf of bread and a flask of water. My equipment consisted of torn cloth leggings, and ragged shirt. Nothing else. Not even shoes.

Except for my sword of course, I thought while grinning. Sure, the "Beginner's sword" wasn't very impressive, it was probably the plainest lump of metal I had ever seen before, but it was still a sword. I practically started drooling over the though of using it.

I swore as my characters exaggerated display of emotions caused me to actually start drooling. The laughing of the group around me drew me out of my menu, and I quickly pressed the small "x", and closed the menu (thank the gods and heavens) silently.

After looking at my ragged equipment, I noticed that everyone in the group had near identical clothing to me, including the pixie girl. In fact, I wouldn't have minded a few more tears in her ragged shirt.

Except she was probably a guy. I felt nauseous for the third time

Feeling the need to get away from the group of males plus a girl possibly a guy… I gave my thanks to them, and promised that if I saw them in the field, I would party with them. I didn't befriend them though. Just like in the real world, I considered friends to be few and special individuals.

The fact that I did not know how to add friends had nothing to with my actions.

As I walked away, I pondered how I was going to be able to locate Matthew in this infestation of players.

* * *

The high pitched laughing of NPC children passed me by for the third time, as they followed their given commands without pause or hesitation. I only wished that I had some sort of plan that I could follow, instead of sitting on an empty bench, watching the stone carved water fountain in front of me, that was glistening with rivulets of pure clean water. Several drops would bounce off of an ornament, and following very precise physics commands, would direct themselves at me, leaving me with a pleasantly cool pinpricks on my bare arms. I was considering dunking my head in the water, just because I was curious as to how the Nerve Gear system would handle a feeling as complicated as immersion within water.

My chance was stolen, as a soft chiming, and a glowing exclamation mark surrounded by a circle popping into existence interrupted me. I sighed exasperatedly. I thought I'd already turned off the menu sound effects. I guess that there were many other sound effects that I would have to disable before I'd be blessed with peace and quiet.

I touched the glowing exclamation mark, and blinked in surprise as I examined a friend request. It was from a player named Rhythm.

"Matthew", I muttered. I knew it was his user instantly by the name. It wasn't that the name related to him in any way. It was just that, after knowing someone for so long, and being such good friends with them, you just gain a sixth sense about these things.

And of course Matthew would be able to befriend me without even meeting me in the game, he was the one who created my username, for gods sake.

I pressed the accept option, tapped the exit button, and the screen silently slid into nonexistence. I swore, when no sooner then the screen had closed, another chime sounded. I angrily scrolled through my options, found the sound effect setting for notifications, and muted it, despite the protests of the system.

Then, after a sigh of relief, I looked at the notification.

-Meet me at the North Gate now. Don't bring any of the babes with you, I fear that they're all men in disguise: Richard-

I laughed quickly, and stood up from my bench, before I paused suddenly. Where was my compass? For that matter, where the hell was my map? They're probably for sale, I determined. And began running in a random direction, praying that it would lead to something.

* * *

Running was definitely a feeling I would have to get used to. I had run for a good 20 minutes, and had yet to feel any exhaustion. My breathing was heavy, but that just felt like a side effect from running in the real world. What had confused me was that no matter how hard I tried; I just couldn't seem to run fast. My pace had been rather slow, definitely slower than what I could run in the real world. However, when I tried to push my legs further, and pump my arms harder, it achieved nothing, except for increasing my irritation.

After getting nowhere with my blind running, I finally swallowed my pride, and had asked some players that looked more experienced where the North Gate was. The way they acted, and the quality of some of their equipment, made me suspect that they were some of the beta testers. They were very kind nonetheless, and happily pointed the way for me, for which I thanked them greatly.

As I rounded what was hopefully the last corner, I received yet another glowing, yet thankfully silent, notification from Rhythm. He had begun to grow impatient over the past 5 minutes, and had been barraging me with messages, much to my annoyance.

They consisted primarily about babes.

The North Gate loomed in front of me, and I slowed my running pace into a more comfortable walking one, and glanced around, trying to locate my friend. This proved to be a fruitless endeavor however, as Matthew's avatar, Rhythm must look physically different than what I was used to.

I decided upon the easiest course of action.

"Where are all the babes?" I shouted, receiving a few weird, judging looks from other parties of players nearby.

My moment of embarrassment was rewarded with a response, "The babes are here!", which, to my disappointment, consisted of one lonely female.

Rhythm was standing, looking noble and righteous in his 6'6 avatar, with long black hair, blowing slightly in the weak wind. His unusually blue eyes stared at me, clouded with amusement. Beside him was a female avatar, and another male avatar, who was of a height more similar to mine, with short black hair, which reminded me strongly of a certain individual who I couldn't quite place my finger on…

I was about to Rhythm who these people were, but all that came out of my mouth was.

"Oomph."

A fist had connected with my gut, and had done the equivalent of winding me within the video game parameters. I was basically left with an unpleasant feeling in my lungs, while maintaining the ability to breathe.

I followed the fist to its source, and was surprised to see that it had belonged to the girl who had been standing with Rhythm. Her purple highlighted hair and playful purple eyes distracted me for long enough for her to connect the sole of her shoeless foot with my chest, effectively knocking me to the ground.

"That's for earlier today, you asshole" She smirked, while sticking her tongue out at me. My mind whirred a bit, while gears and levers clicked into place.

"Rebecca" I said shocked. She laughed, amused at my expression.

"Daniel" I said in disgust, facing the black haired individual. He kicked me in the chest, less playfully than what I would've preferred, but proceeded to hold out his hand and lift me up. Rebecca swooned over to him, and wrapped her arms around his midsection.

"A true gentleman", she said, sighing in affection. Rhythm and I snorted, that quickly became a cough as we received stabbing glares that promised certain death. Rebecca closed her eyes, and her shoulders visibly relaxed as Daniel stroked her hair, before opening her eyes again.

"But… how?" I asked, still confused. Where had they gotten the Nerve Gears and SAO installations? I only managed to get mind because Matthew had waited in line so long and…

Understanding washed over me. There had been four boxes in Matthews's room. He had bought one for everyone. I growled, annoyed that they had kept it a secret from me, but was secretly happy about the turnout.

They were all laughing at my reaction

Rebecca begun playing with her fingers in front of her face, and it took me a few seconds to realize that she was navigating her menu, and not making rude hand gestures to me.

A glowing notification appeared in front of me, and I tapped it, unsurprised when it contained a friend request from…

"Becka, creative, aren't you" I said laughing.

She laughed with me, but continued by stating, "You want creative, wait until you see Daniels," she said, before collapsing into a fit of laughter.

I frowned as a new notification appeared on my screen. My eyes found Daniel, who was looking at me expectantly, as if waiting for my approval. I noticed that Matthew was trying to look disappointed, but was fighting a losing battle with the muscles in his face. Rebecca was still laughing beside Daniel, using him as support, else she would surly have collapsed on the ground by now.

I hesitantly pressed the notification alert, worried about what I would find.

I could only stare.

"Cig Bock?" I said weakly, struggling to get the words out. Daniel just nodded his smiling head.

Words could not describe the disappointment I felt in my friend

But laughter could.

And as the laughter bubbled out of my chest into the outside world, Matthew lost his battle, and burst into laughter along with me. Rebecca finally collapsed from the amusement. Daniel finally happy that we more or less "approved" of his username began laughing.

I was content. I was happy.

Richard, Matthew, Daniel and Rebecca continued to laugh, attracting stares from passer bys, who just shook their heads at the overly excited kids, some smiling at the scene, others frowning. But we didn't care.

Sirius, Rhythm, Cig Bock, and Becka laughed along with us.

We were content. We were happy.

For now.

* * *

**And stop.**

**Yeah, I released this much earlier than I originally planned. I was just too eager, despite the lack of current readers... hmmm, hopefully that'll change eventually. I also realized that the first chapter contained no actual SAO gameplay, what a shocking disappointment as that is why anyone would be be here. So, second chapter came out nice and early. I'll try and figure out a proper release date. Or, you know, i might keep it spontaneous, keep the future readers on their toes.**

Cheers 

**-Council**


	3. The Duel

The last rays of the afternoon sun were pulsing upon the napes of our bare necks as my party and I strolled around the markets of "Starting City", exploring and discovering aspects of this newfound world. Pungent scents escaped out of gloomy looking stores, while the sweet scent of flowers greeted us warmly, as the bright petals, and vivid flowers greeted us from the front of some of the more pleasant shops.

Becka and Daniel (I refused to call him by his username, Cig Bock) walked hand in hand, passing and examining stalls, treating this new experience as some sort of elaborate date. The couple chose to examine stalls that had little or no audience, preferring privacy, and a reprieve from the jealous glances that followed them. Not that any of the players, other than Rhythm and I, would suspect that they were dating in real life. They would simply presume that they were two new players trying to enjoy the socializing aspect of the game to its fullest.

Rhythm and I were more intrigued by the shops that players would crowd around, causing the NPC's within the shops to become flustered, as was protocol. They were always weapon shops, and although the displayed armaments were not the sleek, shiny, blades us players had imagined we would initially be receiving, they were a damn of a whole lot more exceptional than our "beginning blades."

It was the variety of weapons that were attracting the players. Curved blades, resembling scimitars, large two-handed blades, arm length blades that ranged from sai, a fine pointed dagger, to double bladed daggers.

Each weapons shop displayed a weapon, which appeared to be of limited edition. The current shop Rhythm and I were visiting displayed a 5 scythe, a two handed based weapon, that uncannily looked like a run down weapon the fantasized grim reaper carries. The NPC of the store confirmed to Rhythm that there was only 1 scythe in stock. Limited edition indeed. This scythe would probably become an early game treasure to obtain, a trophy in a sense, to show off a players quick grasp of the game's money collecting mechanics.

Rhythm and glanced at me, seemingly on the same chain of thoughts as me, as we often were, nodded once, and we pushed our way through the density of players surrounding the store. Finally breaking through, we ran at a frustratingly slow pace due to the current limiters on our speed, towards Becka and Daniel, who were attracted a crowd equivalent to the weapons shop from their current open display of affection. I groaned, at the two players who were truly testing the limits of the socializing aspect of the program.

Deciding that I wanted to test some of the limits of this rather incredible program, I opened up my silent menu with a flick of my fingers, navigated to my inventory, and chose my precious flask of water. Light flickered within my hands, as the fluorescent menu slid to the peripherals of my vision, and the flask of water formed within the grasp of my fingers.

I dipped my finger into the flask, testing the water, and felt a feeling that although being reminiscent of being immersed in water, did not quite copy the exact likeness of water in the real world. A small reminder that the game indeed had limitations.

My results of my experimenting were sufficient for me however, as I walked over to the oblivious couple, and, to the amusement of their audience, emptied the tankard of water upon them.

"Come on lovebirds, we're closing down this show," I announced, to both the audience, and the spluttering couple. Daniel, his senses finally returned to his surroundings, blushed, aided greatly by his avatars exaggerated emotions. Becka had fixed me with he renowned glare however, and to the audience's further amusement, she begun to attack me. Fists and feet impaled my body, and nails flailed across my bare skin. I was just relieved that she refrained from using teeth.

Rhythm chuckled at the comedic scene that we were involved in. He decided to step in however, before I began to beg for forgiveness, in attempt to salvage at least some of my dignity. Dragging her off my defeated body, Rhythm picked her up, held her to his chest momentarily, before smirking and throwing her at Daniel, who was still recovering from his blushing incident.

Rhythms smirk disappeared immediately as the Becka crashed into the ground, only halfway to the destination mark of Daniel's arms. Rhythm blinked, trying to understand why she hadn't made it the whole distance. Then it clicked, just like running, strength had parameters on it too. Everyone, at this point in the game, had the exact same strength, despite size, and physical muscle appearance, just as everyone had the same maximum running speed.

Rhythm's slow blinking gave way to a faster blinking, as panic spread through his eyes, and begun to infect the rest of his body. His breathing quickened, and his body stiffened into the instinctive fight or flight response.

Becka slowly picked herself off the ground, dusting off her torn cloth leggings, which needed much more than just a dusting off, and slowly turned to glare at Rhythm. She was unhurt, as the system would not take damage into account within a city, and the players were not involved in a duel. It was more or less impossible to die within a city.

She had suffered embarrassment however, as the onlookers were now in hysterics, as they watched the scene unfold.

"Matthew," she whispered, her voice laced with venom, her anger so extreme she forgot to use his avatar name. I release a huge sigh; relieved that Becka's anger had been redirected off of me.

"Richard," she whispered next. I winced; my release of breath had been perhaps a bit too loud.

I glanced at Rhythm, and he glanced at me. We communicated with that quick glance.

"Three", I thought to myself, as I slowly shifted my center of gravity, in preparation to push myself back on my feet.

"Two", though Rhythm, as he leaned forward slightly onto the front of his feet, while twisting his body slightly in preparation for his escape.

Our eyes widened as Rebecca notice our minute movements, and screamed while charging us.

"Go go go go goooooooo!" Rhythm and I screamed together, exploding through the dense audience with as much strength and speed as the system would allow us, and ran for our lives, as a maniacal 5'5 girl chased us. The audience continued to laugh as Daniel slowly followed our group, grumbling about this and that while muttering barely disguised profanities that caused some of the younger players to blanch.

* * *

The blade in my hand lost another chip as it collided with the tusks of the male boar, causing me to slide back several meters, while I tried to maintain my balance. The grass around my feet was pulled up, and I left a significant trail of dirt, as my toes gripped the moist soil for support.

My health bar flashed a shade between yellow and green, hovering around the 60% mark. The boar's health bar looked to be in much better condition. The few glances of my blade had only chipped away 10% of the boar's health.

I swore as I looked at the condition of my blade. If it had looked unattractive when I had first received it, then it was now horrendously ugly, battered and chipped on all sides. Even the handle of the sword was broken, snapped in half from the time I had attempted to bash the boars face in with the pommel.

Disregarding all sentiments of defense, I reversed the grip of the sword in my hand, so that instead of blade angling towards the sky, it was angled towards the now mangled grassy plain in front of me. The Boar squealed loudly, stomped the ground twice with its right foot, a sign I had discovered earlier that signified that the boar was preparing to charge.

It begun to traverse the short distance of three meters, while shaking its tusks back and forth in anger and annoyance. I held what little remained of the sword grip in both hands, and held my hands above me head. My breath was ragged, and adrenaline was pumping through my technologic limbs. Time seemed to slow down, and I was able to count my heartbeats.

_Ba-bump!_

The Board lowered its head, readying its tusks to impale me. My mouth began to open in a scream while I willed my arms to move.

_Ba-bump!_

My arms pushed down against the blade, aided by the artificially programmed gravity, and the point neared the Boars skull. The boar's head whipped to the side, and its right tusk approached my left flank.

_Ba…_

My legs buckled as the tusk ripped into my stomach, and my health bar rapidly begun to deplete, the colour morphing from green, to yellow, to red instantly.

_Bump!_

My arms buckled as my blade found resistance in the form of the boar's skull. My sword paused for an instant, seemingly stuck on a bone of some sort, before sliding right through the boar's head. The boar head was pinned to the ground as the sword continued to impale through and plow into dirt. Its squeals of pain were disrupted as it shattered into a thousand glistening polygons, which floated outwards, before twinkling like stars into non-existence.

"Critical," I murmured to myself, as I struggled with my ragged breathing.

My senses flooded back to me, and the rapid pounding of my heartbeat surprised me. I fell backwards onto the ground, and lay resting beside my sword, that remained upright, impaled at least 2 feet into the dirt. The settling dusk made a pleasant sight for my weary eyes, as I watched day became night.

The screaming of my companions, and the squealing of the boars drowned out the pleasant sounds that might have accompanied dusk. After being chased out of the city by an enraged Becka, and a less enthusiastic Daniel, we scouted a small group of boars, roaming around the grassy plains that the first floor consisted of.

The gentle sloping and rolling of hills surrounded us, and in the distance, several forests were visible. Our eyesight was limited enough, that we could see the edges of the map. I pondered just how large the first floor of Aincrad was. Rhythm had told me he heard it was 10 km in diameter, with the first floor being rather circular.

I couldn't wait to discover all the secrets and hidden locations hidden behind the meadow like hills around us.

The flashing of my health bar brought me back to reality (or, as real as you can get within a video game). I flicked my fingers, and navigated the glowing, and thankfully still silent, menus, and activated my last precious "Weak Health Potion". Light flickered within my hands as a glass flask materialized within my grasp. I popped the cork off the top of the vial, and downed the liquid that tasted like out of date cough medicine.

I plopped back down on the ground, and watched my health bar recover at an increased rate. I had discovered a few things during my few battles. Health was constantly regenerated, but just at an incredibly slow rate, insufficient enough to be unreliable during battles. Unfortunately, potions did not heal instantly, but instead increased the rate of healing for a limited time. Even more unfortunate, was that if one was injured while under the healing effects of a potion, the potions healing bonus would deactivate, and the potion would be waster.

I'd discovered this the hard way, when a boar had charged me while I had been waiting for my health to regenerate.

Not wanting to repeat the same mistake twice, I hopped back up to my feet, and yanked my sword off the ground, observing, in disappointment, as chunks of the sword proceeded to fall off from this simple act.

Swords, or more correctly, melee weapons, as there were supposedly a multitude of weapons that were not swords throughout the world, were ranked with stats, similarly to how players had stats. There was Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness and Durability. Although it was impossible to see the basic stats, they played an important role in combat. Right now, I was experiencing the result of using a weapon with an incredibly low durability stat.

Weapons could be repaired of course, but depending on the weapon, it could be very expensive, and depending on the player, they might not want to repair the weapon, but simply opt to equip a new weapon. I, for example, was more than ready to throw my "Beginners Sword" out, and use the items I had collected from the boars and the col (the form of money in this world) to buy a new weapon. Hopefully the scythe, if it hadn't been purchased yet.

I shook my head, and shook my sword, swearing as a chunk of metal landed on my bare foot, and began to dissolve into brightly coloured polygons. I looked around and saw that Rhythm, Becka and Daniel had finished with their current fight, and seeing me resting, had decided to take a rest as well.

We had each killed around 4 to 5 boars, a task that had only been possible with the ample amount of health potions we had used. I wondered if there was an easier way to fight, or if all enemies were going to be this difficult in the future. Not one of us had even managed to gain a single level. It was pretty disappointing.

"Hey, let's move somewhere else away from the boars, so they don't attack us when we're unprepared", I said, walking over to the group. It wasn't just that. Night had finally fallen, and the boar's eyes had changed to a shining yellow colour that was quite eerie and disturbing. I was worried about what other changes night would bring, and wanted to leave.

Daniel just laughed at me though, "Are you kidding, I want to see you get your ass handed to you by a boar again. That was hilarious!"

"Shut up you titch bits"

"Sick ducker"

Rhythm hit us both in the head, effectively shutting us both up. "Sirius is right, let's head to someplace safer." We all agreed then, and began to walk off.

"Besides, I want to meet some more babes by the end of the night," Richard added, resulting in a hit to his head from Becka.

Daniel and I were ignoring them however, still engaged in our previous, but now quiter, argument.

It was Daniel who suggested the duel.

It was a part of the game, a mechanic, that everyone was expected to use, so there had been no harm in it. I was eager to completely destroy my half a remaining blade, and a duel with Daniel to get him to shut up seemed like the perfect thing.

Rhythm and Becka just rolled they eyes, but a flash of amusement and curiosity lit had lit up their faces. We had yet to see a PvP (player versus player) dual, and the outcomes would definitely be exciting.

Or so we thought.

Daniel flicked his fingers, and after a few seconds of unnatural hand gestures, he sent a fluorescent battle message to me.

-Cig Bock challenges you to a duel-

"Change your fucking name already," I said, while selecting the accept option.

Daniel smirked. "Ouch, did I just hit a nerve? Don't tell me someone has a… call smock?"

"It is on. We fight now. To. The. Death!"

"Agreed," Daniel replied, while selecting the "Death Duel" option.

"Ready?" I said while accepting the duel mode. A sixty-second countdown appeared, visible to everyone, between us. We were distanced about 6 meters away from one another.

Daniel spoke slowly and dramatically. "I am ready to die, with death in one hand… and my girlfriends bra in the other."

"Just hurry up and die Daniel," said a very unamused Becka.

With ten seconds left on the timer, Daniel and I each drew our "beginner's sword", and readied ourselves.

_3_

"Don't regret this later Sirius"

_2_

"What could I possibly regret from winning"

_1_

The countdown morphed into glowing text, displaying the word -Fight- and Daniel and I rushed at each other recklessly. Unlike in real life mock sword fights we would often have, we weren't aiming at the other player's sword. We were aiming for each other.

Daniel had his blade raised above his head, ready to slice through my body. I flicked my wrist so that my sword was pointing outwards, and swung it horizontally at Daniels unprotected body.

My blade bit into Daniel's stomach, and a large pink, electronically pixilated scar appeared for several seconds. I tried to retreat, in an effort to dodge Daniel's now incoming blade.

I was partly successful, being able to dodge the worst of the strike, but his sword still cut into my left shoulder, leaving a similar pixilated scar on me, which quickly faded. I winced as the system generated feelings of pain to rush through my body, but I was certain that the pain was much less than what it would have been in the real world. I was easily able to shrug off the uncomfortable feeling, and continue fighting.

As we began to cross blades again, more defensively this time, I compared our health bars. Daniel's cut had removed 20% of my health bar, a rather substantial amount compared to what the boars often did, but my blow had left Daniel with 40%.

Both of our fighting skills lacked talent, or grace, or beauty. It was really just two guys beating each other clumsily with what could have been sticks. What worried me was the condition of my sword. Each time our blades would collide, shards of metal would fly off of my blade, quickly disappearing into colourful polygons. The longer this fight went on, the more likely I would lose. I had to end this fight now.

As the artificial adrenaline began pumping through my body, I remembered the feeling I had when I fought my last boar. Disregard all sentiments of defense.

With a shout, I pushed against our locked swords, and caused Daniel to stumble back, and that brief respite of time enabled me to switch the hold on my blade, from an upright angling position, to a earthbound angling position, exactly like I had done with the boar. There was not enough handle to hold the blade with two hands, so I let my left arm, which was still irritated from the earlier slash, hang loose.

I pulled my sword arm backwards, above my head, and Daniel, observing the opening, dashed in and stabbed my unprotected chest. Daniel looked up and smirked at me, his face below mine slightly, eyes filled with thoughts of victory.

I grimaced back at him, and grabbed his sword arm with my left arm, securing his position.

Before he could react, I swung my sword arm down, and the blade impaled Daniel through the face, incredibly similar to the way I'd slaughtered the boar.

Daniel's health bar disappeared.

He was smiling at me; his mouth half open, as if to congratulate me. Then his body shattered into millions of brightly coloured polygons, which twinkled away slowly, and sadly, but surely.

He died with a smile on his face.

* * *

**Have you ever been writing a story, and suddenly an epiphany for a completely different story pops into your head, and you feel conflicted about whether you should sacrifice one story for another. Yeah. That happened to me at about 1 in the morning last night. But, this is my first work posted on ff, and I'd feel pretty disappointed in myself if I just dropped it.**

**So, my self compromise is that I'll try to churn out the chapters for SAO Australia as fast as I can. Now, I wonder if that would fill my readers with fear or joy hmmm... oh right, what readers hmm? All in good time. All in good time.**

**Cheers**

**- Council**


	4. Game Master

shimmered away, leaving our now smaller group isolated in the darkness of night.

"That didn't feel right," I muttered to myself, feeling slightly nauseous as I recalled the image of me impaling Daniel through the face with my blade. "That didn't feel good at all."

"It's alright, he had it coming," said Becka, who's light joking couldn't completely disguise her uncertainty.

Rhythm tapped his foot several times before contributing to the conversation. "I think we can all agree to never attack people again. I mean, each other at least," he said, in a more serious tone than he usually spoke with.

I collapsed to the ground, not for the first time in this strange new world, and looked around for my sword. It was on the ground, beside a small pile of items that had not been there minutes ago.

"Daniels gear" I muttered to myself, as I bent down and placed them in my inventory, intending to return them to Daniel when I next saw him. Finally, I reached for my sword, but as I pulled it out of the ground, the blade snapped in half. I just blinked and stared at it, as the sword lit up briefly, before shattering, just like Daniel had, into a thousand shining polygons.

Never to return again.

It was strangely quiet as I turned around, and found Rhythm and Becka staring at me intently, seriously. I realized that I hadn't laughed yet, something that I was always doing, and it had thrown them off, caused them to worry.

So I laughed, and posed in a corny victory stance, declaring my win. "What are you two so quiet for? It's a game, a video game, it's programmed specifically for this!" I laughed again, trying to set the mood. If only I didn't feel so hollow.

The others caught on and begun to laugh with me, and the tension in the air relaxed slightly. Well it was better than nothing, I thought.

"I know," I said suddenly, "Its time for me to shame him for losing." I began smiling as I flicked open my menu, and navigated to the friends list. I began laughing.

"Hey guys, I think he removed me as a friend because he was so angry. His names not highlighted anymore. I can't even send him messages."

"No way," said Becka, "that poor loser, he should be able to suck up one loss. Oh when I get my hands on him I'm going to-" her voice stopped suddenly, and she made a small squeaking noise in shock. "Ehhh, he removed me toooo!"

I stopped laughing. "Wait, what? He removed you!"

"I doubt it, otherwise he's removed me as well," said Rhythm. "The fact that it's not highlighted probably means he's offline. Maybe he rage quit?"

"But that's not like him at all" said Becka, now becoming increasingly worried, even more so when I nodded my head in confirmation of her statement. "I'm going to log off and call him, and see what's wrong." She began to navigate through her menus that were invisible to Rhythm and I.

"Perhaps his sister yanked his helmet off?" pondered Rhythm.

"Or his parents may have, to get him to eat dinner?" I suggested.

Our contemplating was interrupted by a frustrated yell from Becka.

"Where. The fuck. Is the log out button?"

"Under options" Rhythm guessed.

"It's not fucking there" she snapped back.

"But it's the only possible place" I said, while opening my own menu, and began searching for the log out button. I noticed Rhythm doing the same thing.

After a minute of each of us twiddling our fingers, we were again interrupted by Becka.

"No. Fucking. Button. Great, just fucking great, how the hell did Daniel get out?"

Rhythm and I were staring at each other now, conveying silent messages of worry. We were, once again, both thinking along the same train of though. Why would the programmers of SAO remove the log out button? It had to be purposeful. Logging out is such a huge concept that it's impossible it was overlooked.

It was a good thing we were both thinking about this rationally, because Becka was certainly not. We were both sure her unstoppable rant of swearwords was going to attract a group of irritated monsters.

Before Rhythm and I could remind her of this however, bright blue lights suddenly shot up around each of us. I felt my body growing lighter, and could visibly see my tanned arms, morphing into a bright light. The last thing I heard before whiteness stole my vision was Becka screaming.

"It's about fucking time someone around here did something!"

* * *

The white light faded into a familiar location, "Starting City". I frowned, confused as to my sudden… well… teleportation, I guess. I could think of no other words to describe it. It was obvious that no time had passed in between the white light, as the moon was still in the same location in the sky as before.

I heard Becka let out a torrent of swear words as she realized that she was still within the game. Poor girl, I thought, she never did do well under stressful situations.

I turned, expecting to see Rhythm beside me, but was surprised, or perhaps unsurprised, when I discovered him sweet talking a bunch of "babes". The girls seemed particularly grateful for Rhythm's presence, taking comfort in his calm demeanor. They seemed as confused as Becka, minus the vulgar language.

Panicked talking, and worried looks surrounding me, as I observed the thousands of players that were packed within the central plaza I had begun the game in. It was the plaza that everyone had begun the game in. It was truly the beginning location of this world.

I recognized the short, pink haired, pixie girl I had met earlier in the game, surrounded by the same group of tall men. I waved at them, being close enough that they should be able to distinguish me from the crowd, but they either could not see me, or chose to ignore me.

"Ah well" I muttered to myself, "She was probably a guy anyway."

"Who's a guy!" said an extremely aggravated Becka.

"No one Becka, just go back to swearing."

She readied her fists to attack me, but was interrupted by the sudden display of light in the sky. Red began to ooze from what appeared the roof of the world, and flowed in small rivulets around the central plaza. The substance, which looked eerily like blood, began to slowly swirl together. Not a single noise was uttered from the players in the plaza as they watched the blood structure itself into a hooded robe that begun to flutter in the non-existent wind.

Black gloves expanded out of the sleeves of the robe, but otherwise, no other limbs were visible, and the hooded figure appeared to float meters above the ground. The most terrifying part was that there was no face beneath the hood, just darkness, blacker than the deepest shadow, that threatened to swallow you whole if you stared too long into its depths.

"What…" I whispered to myself, "Is it…?"

The crowd watching remained silent however, and my question went unanswered. The tension in the atmosphere built up, and each player's anxiety was so prominent it could almost be felt radiating off of him or her.

I held my breath, and counted my heartbeats, which were threatening to tear the insides of my avatar to shreds.

_Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! _

And then, the hooded figure spoke.

"Crikey mate!" said the voice with a prominent, almost stereotypical, Australian accent.

No one spoke.

"Ahh, there's a fuck load of you. Ah shit, I was not fucking expecting this. Imagine that I was going to be walking over a fucking desert for some of you little shits."

And then the laughing began. It started with a short chuckle from a single player, which spread like wild fire, and soon had the whole crowd of 10,000 players laughing.

"Hey, you all, stop it, stop fucking laughing. I fucking mean it." The robed figure tried to regain his control over the crowd, but it appeared that he'd lost it.

"YOU'RE ALL FUCKING SCREWED!" The voice bellowed, vibrating the ground and the very air molecules around us. The crowd was instantly silenced. There was a pause, in which it sounded like the voice was trying to regain his composure.

"Eh, sorry about that mates, I didn't mean for it to come that way. Maybe it'll go better if I just read the script he gave me." The rustling of papers could be heard, following by a coughing one does to clear their throat.

"Players, I welcome you all to my world." There was a pause. "God this guys a pompous faggot."

Finally, someone was brave enough to say something.

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" said a male with a weak, whiny, voice.

Well, maybe he wasn't that brave, but at least he said something.

The omnipotent voice responded. "Yea, don't worry mate, I'm getting there. Eh let's see… ah, here we go." The rustling of paper ceased temporarily. "I think that most of you have discovered that the log out button has disappeared. This is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug, this is part of SAO's system."

Now the worried talk began. The players were beginning to realize that they had involved themselves in something that was quickly turning dangerous.

"You cannot log out of your own free will until you get to the top of this castle. Do not attempt to remove the Nerve Gear yourself, because you can't. You physically cannot. The Nerve gear cancels out all real world physical movements, remember."

"More importantly though, if you remove the Nerve Gear, the signal sensors within it will emit a strong electrowhatsyoucallit pulse, completely destroying your brain."

There was silence.

"It means death"

And what was once worried and panicked talking became full blown fear. Players began screaming, some trying to run away, but finding that the system disabled them from leaving. This caused the fleeing players to scream even louder.

The voice appeared not to notice the panic that it was causing however. Presumably, the speaker was too preoccupied with the "script" he was reading.

"Regretfully… ah… here it is, 236 players have already exited the game, and the real world forever."

I started to feel uneasy inside for some reason. Rhythm was staring at me strangely. The way one would stare at a mental patient, and you're unsure of how they're going to react. Becka's mouth was open in a wide "O" shape, as half of her brain was trying to comprehend what was being said, while the other half was forcing her into panic mode. Daniel was… Where had Daniel gone again? I'd forgotten…

"Ladeda, skip the boring stuff, and here… SAO is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality. From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment that your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever, and at the same time your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear.

It hit me in the gut harder than any fist or weapon ever could. The realization tore my brain to pieces. The understanding made my stomach nauseous. If the system had let me, I would be throwing up right now.

I had fought him in a duel.

**Daniel was dead.**

I had mocked him, provoked him to fight to the death.

**Daniel was dead.**

I had impaled my blade through his skull.

**I had murdered Daniel.**

A hand on my shoulder interrupted my thoughts. I faintly recognized the face in front of me as Rhythm. Wait, who was Rhythm, I didn't know anyone by the name of Rhythm?

And then there was the girl who was on her knees, sprawled along the ground, crying, screaming, howling. Why was she crying? Did I know her? Did Daniel know her?

I blinked. Of course she knew him. She was Daniel's girlfriend, and I had killed him. She was going to kill me now, right?

…Who was she again?

I heard something about a mirror, and then suddenly, everyone was holding a mirror. Was I? I couldn't tell. But there were lots of lights. Lots of lights everywhere. I felt my own body glow, and my hair shrink up my shoulders, but as I had not bothered to change my proportions, I remained the same height and size, and avoided any uncomfortable physical changes. Everyone seemed to be changing. Men everywhere were shrinking, hairstyles were varying, girls were transforming into boys. It was chaos. Pure hell. I looked at the girl sprawled on the ground beside me.

"R-r… Rebecca?" Her hair colour had returned from purple, to her natural dark chestnut hair, and it had shrunk from her waist up to her chest. Her eyes had returned to their honey brown colour, but held despair and sadness like I'd never seen before.

I felt the hand on my shoulder forcibly twist me around to face the owner. A man, slightly shorter than me, with hazel eyes, and messy medium length black hair stared at me. He was saying something, but I couldn't comprehend it.

"Matthew?" I managed weakly. But before he could respond, I remembered. This time my mind wasn't clouded by panic. It was with rational thinking that I remembered the incident.

"I killed Daniel," I said, my voice barely audible over the screaming of the crowd.

"Richard!" Matthew shouted, while shaking my shoulders roughly. "Richard! You have to listen to me! Run! Run away now, we will find you later, but you need to run now!" He glanced down at the limp body of Rebecca. "She will be fine, but she cannot be allowed to see you now!"

I nodded my head, unable to speak, but able to think rationally. The panic I had felt earlier had left my body, but nothing had flowed in to replace it, and I was left feeling empty and hollow, as if something had been stolen from within me.

But I understood. Neither Matthew nor I would be able to predict how Rebecca would react once she saw me. She might forgive me instantly, but more than likely she would experience a brief murderous, bloodlust induced revenge upon me.

Rhythm and I both knew Rebecca well. She was a sweet-hearted person, despite the physical abuse she would often hand out. If she were ever to discover that she had tried to kill someone, she would break down. She was the kind of girl who would be unable to forgive herself. She would spend the rest of her life with a chain hanging around her neck, reminding her of actions.

To prevent this happening, I had to leave. Indefinitely. I might never be allowed to meet her again, but to protect her future; I would easily give up that much.

"You'll protect her?" I whispered to Matthew, the person who I trusted the most, the person who I would give everything for, and expect nothing in return.

"I will," he whispered back. "Now, go!"

I ran. I ran past a male who was standing where the pixie haired girl had once been. I ran past the males who had once been 6'6, and now barely reached 5'10. I ran past crowds who were too shocked to move, too shocked to realize that the moving restrictions has been lifted.

I ran away from my friends. I prayed I would see them again.

* * *

**Fin**, **for this chapter anyway**

**I had trouble writing Sirius in panic. Not something I experience regularly, so something I have trouble writing about. Hopefully the feeling gets across though. I'm also, unsure how people will react to the rather... unusual GM. I just really wanted to make some landmark differences, to solidify that this is indeed in Australia, far away from Kirito and friends. A crude Australian GM seemed to do that for me.**

**Thanks to Zulu86 for his great review, small things like that really motivate us writers.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	5. Alarm

Today was not a good day, and it was only 6:40

I growled angrily at a group of players, yelling at them to get out of my damn way. They immediately scuttled off to find a new alley to inhabit, scared of accidently provoking someone into a fight. Even though they must have known that cities were a safe zone, and all dangerous fights occurred only through duels, which must first have consent from both players.

But they were scared of this death game they had been plunged and shackled into. Fear clouded the minds of even the sharpest minds. My conscious picked at me a bit, knowing I would regret my aggressive actions later. But for now, I was more than happy to burn off steam.

Last night, fear had clouded my mind greatly, and even Richard had not been able to fully snap me out of it. The nightmares I'd experienced had not been pleasant. My current anger was a surpassingly pleasant relief from the hollow feeling I had been previously harbouring.

"Watch your fucking step!" I yelled to a short, young teenage player, who had run into me. He looked up at me fearfully, before stuttering his apologies and running like he'd seen the devil.

"Idiot," I muttered. Normally I would not have treated anyone like that, especially someone younger than me. But it was loud, it was bright, and it was 6:45 in the morning. I was meant to be sleeping.

How was I supposed to know that the default alarm clock was set to wake me up at 6:30 in the morning?

I was not a morning person. I did not like loud, unnatural noises. If the alarm had been a physical object, I would have smashed it into colourful artificial polygons gleefully.

But it wasn't, so I had to console myself by navigating to my options menu, and disabling the alarm option, and sound. A regrettably less violent action.

I turned the corner of the alley onto a main road, as I continued my directionless journey. I had tried running to cool off my anger, but running was not very invigorating at this point in the game, when my fastest pace was barely above that of a jog.

I noticed stalls beginning to open, and I presumed that by 7:00, the market would be in full bloom. My virtual stomach grumbled, and I grumbled along with it as I searched for breakfast. I discovered several buildings that appeared to be restaurants, but just like every other store, would not open until 7:00. The thought did not help my mood.

I continued my directionless walk up the street that was becoming steadily deserted. Grumbling to myself about things I hated, like alarm clocks, loud noises, and ten paged essays, I ran my hand against the virtual, but realistic clay wall, and swung myself around the corner into a side alley.

My grumbling was interrupted when I ran into something solid and unfriendly.

"Watch where the fuck you stand, buddy," I said, attempting to push past him, before running into another player. An irritating part of the system of SAO was that players could not force other players to move within cities. Players might as well have had a concrete pillar impaling their feet to the ground. I had avoided this issue so far by simply yelling at any obstructions in my way.

Most obstruction so far had been players too shocked and scared from the death game concept to react violently to my aggressive shouting, and had simply scurried away from my large strides.

I groaned when I realized that these players were not in any mood to scurry out of the way. It appeared that they had adjusted to the death game faster than others, and were not in a semi-comatose state, dumbly walking around the city. These players were actually living.

It was then that I noticed there was a fourth player in the alley, the young boy I'd sworn at earlier. His black spiky hair was ruffled and dirty, and his bright brown eyes were clouded with tears.

"Who the fuck d'ya think you are?" said the taller of the two standing players. He still only came up to my shoulders and his unnaturally large nose upset his long blond hair that could have been classified as handsome. The shorter of the two nodded his head eagerly in agreement. That, and his squished up face reminded me of a pug.

"Keep your big nose out of my business fucker, or I'll break it" I growled.

The large nosed player began breathing harshly, and his cheeks flushed. "That's what we should be saying, this kid is ours." To prove his point, his fingers flashed in front of him, and after a few seconds, a screen developed, thankfully silent, in front of me.

-Dark Blade challenges you to a duel-

I glanced at the young player with black spiky hair, and was annoyed at the expression I found on his face. It wasn't fear, which was what I had expected, but an expression of giving up on life. The tears were frozen on his face, as if unsure of what direction and purpose they were meant to be achieving.

Despite running into me earlier, the kid was still a kid, and it wasn't in my nature, raging or calm, to leave a helpless kid in danger.

I accepted the duel.

I still didn't feel comfortable dueling, but I had convinced myself that as long as we dueled in "First Strike Mode", there would be no danger.

Besides, Daniel's ghost would haunt me for eternity if I abandoned this kid. That's not including the fist to the guy I'd receive from Becka, or the look of disapproval from Rhythm. My friend would forgive me for dueling, I just wasn't sure about murder.

Fortunately, Dark Blade and I both confirmed to duel in "First Strike Mode". This mode of dueling meant that the winner was decided when either the first clean hit was made on the opposing player, or the opposing players health bar was lowered past 50%. A countdown for 60 seconds appeared above us, and we each took several steps back to prepare.

I begun to examine my player, and swore at my earlier lazy examination. The other dueler, Dark Blade was wearing real clothes, and although they weren't beautiful, compared to the rags and tatters covering my body, he may as well have been a prince.

This player was not an ordinary player. He must have been a beta player, someone who had known since the launch of the game the best way to make money, and level up. My theories were supported when he pulled out a curved blade, instead of a straight, "Beginners Sword", that I was expecting. Dark Blade swirled the curved blade through his fingers, flaunting his superiority over me. The curved blade closely resembled a scimitar, but only lightly curved

This just angered me more. I flicked my menu open, and only hesitated for an instant before equipping a "Beginners Sword".

Daniel's "Beginners Sword".

Not knowing any fancy tricks, I simply held my sword lightly in front of me, swearing when I remembered the horrible condition of the blade, and praying that Daniel's spirit was not going to curse me.

I glanced at my surroundings. The alley was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, which meant there was little room for maneuvering. The duel would be fought head on.

The countdown had ticked into the single digits. I took a deep breath heard the timer chime into non-existence, and the duel began.

I stood my ground while he rushed at me. The curved blade was raised above his head, and on instinct raised my blade above my head into a defensive position. I would defend for a few attacks, while observing my opponent, and determine a plan.

I stared in shock as the curved blade begun to glow orange above Dark Blade's head. Before I had time to contemplate the implications of a glowing sword, the blade had been brought down faster than I would have thought possible. The strength of the slash was beyond my expectations as well. If my "Beginner's Sword" had not already been in defensive position, the slash would have surely cleaved me into two.

I had expected Dark Blade to begin a barrage of attacks, but unexpectedly, he remained poised momentarily with his curved blade resting against my straight blade. I took this chance to jump several steps backwards.

I had completed my observations. He was definitely a beta player.

I was out of my league.

I noticed the black haired kid watching me from the ground. As one of the players was in a duel with me, the kid was no longer trapped in the alley.

"Run kid," I shouted, while preparing myself for self-sacrifice. The kid did not need to be told twice, and I watched his black spiky hair blur past my waist.

"Now you're really gonna pay fella," snarled Dark Blade. "We needed that kid."

I didn't bother responding, choosing to instead jump forwards and slash sideways with my blade at his unprotected stomach. The surprise attack may have won me the duel, if my sword has not collided with the wall to my right, effectively stopping my attack. Dark Blade's eyes had opened in shock from my sudden attack, but his face quickly changed to humour as he noted my failed attack.

He raised his curved blade above his head, and again, it glowed in orange, before crashing down at incredible speeds. With my sword obstructed by the wall, I was unable to defend, and received a cut across my chest that lowered my health by 30%. It appeared that the system did not consider that attack significant of a clean hit, but another attack like that and I would lose.

Dark Blade had paused again, posing in an uncomfortable position for a second, and I used this time to retreat rapidly, thinking just as quickly. It was apparent that his… sword skill (what else could I call it?) was a move that he must have learnt how to use during beta testing. There was an obvious flaw I had just discovered though. It appeared the sword skill temporarily disabled the ability for the player to move.

I would be able to use this knowledge, but first, I had to leave the alley. Dark Blade's downward slashing attacks were incredibly effective in this narrow fighting arena, while my sword was next to useless.

I backed away slowly, causing Dark Blade to warily follow me. It only took several steps before I was in the open, and Dark Blade had no choice but to abandon the safety of his alley for the much wider street. He began to attack with a series of regular, unpowered slashes, which were relatively easy to defend and redirect.

Our clashing of swords had attracted a small crowd. Half of them were watching eagerly, needing entertainment of any sort. The other half looked at us with looks of disgust, wondering why we were trying to murder each other, as that was what we were essentially doing.

My eyes narrowed as Dark Blade raised the curved blade above his head, and I recognized from his pose that he was preparing his sword skill.

"Disregard all sentiments of defense." I muttered to myself, and as the orange blade flew down at incredible speeds, I raised my left arm above my head to meet it. I was unsure as to what would result from these actions, but it was clear that I was not the only one surprised when my left arm was separated from my body, and splattered onto the ground. Pink digital pixels flashed across my limbless left shoulder and my whole body seared in pain.

I was smiling though. The attack on my arm had only lowered 15% of my health, being less vital than my chest, leaving me with 55% health. I had survived, and now it was my turn to attack. My sword arm had already been swinging downwards before I had been struck, and in the instant in which Dark Blade was poised in place and unable to dodge, my blade slammed into his face.

I was disappointed, but not unsurprised when only 40% of his health had been removed, and from a critical hit no less. He was a beta tester after all, he was probably already level two, or even level three, compared to my paltry level one.

I would keep fighting though. My earlier anger had finally left me, leaving me with a peaceful mind, interrupted only by bouts of adrenaline. I felt the best since I had woken up from that damned alarm clock. It was a great feeling. I was having fun.

Dark Blade recovered and launched himself at me, sacrificing sword skills in favor for speed, and I met him head on, and for a few brief moments, I saw my victory.

My eyes widened, and my lungs were emptied as I was launched on the ground. A scream of pain from beside me notified me that Dark Blade had also been hit. My mind was racing. What had happened? I hadn't seen anything, and suddenly I was on the ground and a red haired girl stood in front of me.

Where the fuck had she come from?

"What the fuck are you guys doing?" She yelled.

Her long ginger hair was hanging loosely down her back, and it whipped across her face briefly as she yelled. She was of average height, but incredibly thin, painfully so. Her face was speckled with freckles, while eyes that contained flecks of anger and green glared at me.

I couldn't find the will to respond. If Dark Blade was one or two level above me, then this ginger bitch who had interrupted our fight was at least 4 levels above me. She had dealt with two players efficiently and quickly with her bare fists.

"You," she said, while glaring at me. "Surrender the duel. Now."

Realizing that it was in my best decision to follow her instructions, I reluctantly searched for the surrender button.

-Loser Sirius-

-Winner Dark Blade –

"I can't believe there are actually idiots who are fighting each other. Do you two even have any comprehension that this is a death game? You could've killed each other."

All the anger that I had accumulated in the morning returned to me in angry waves. The nightmares, waking up abruptly from a loud alarm clock, having depressed fuck-wits run into me, having an insatiable hunger, losing the duel, and now this. Some prissy little bitch wants to lecture me on death.

"You think you're so fucking noble don't you, pretending to save people from death. Listen well. I don't need your fucking help, or your fucking lectures about death. I know exactly what I'm getting into, thank you very much, you uptight bitch."

She just gaped at me as I stood up and angrily stormed off in the opposite direction from the ginger girl. The crowd parted for me, some quivering in fear as I passed by them, some shivering in anger. As I walked away I heard her torrent of scathing words.

"Just walk away, you pitiful excuse of a man, but I swear if you hurt one more person I will personally beat you into submission like the little bitch you are…"

Her words faded as I put more distance between us.

Today was not a good day, and it was only 7:00.

* * *

I sat on a bench, munching on a tasteless loaf of black rye bred, scratching my recently healed arm. Although it had healed soon after the duel, and almost painlessly, the sensation of losing a limb was an unusual one. My left arm had become unnaturally itchy after it had been healed.

I had chosen to forgo eating in a restaurant and save as much col as I could for equipment. I had quickly realized when observing prices that the col I received from four boars, even after selling the hide and tusks, was minimal. I would be lucky to buy a new sword, but I desperately needed that much. If it meant having a reliable sword, I would sell the tattered rags I'm wearing and go half naked. A sad smile formed on my face as this thought reminded me of a memory with Daniel when we once-

"Th-thank you," a small voice stuttered, interrupting my thinking. I glanced down and was surprised to see a familiar, spiky black haired boy with brown eyes, only now his once dead eyes glowed with conviction and ambition.

I sighed. "Nah kid, don't make thank me. Just consider it my apology for swearing at you earlier." Now that my stomach was full, and my morning anger was over, I deeply regretted the words that had come out of my mouth. I took another bite out of my bread, and heard a grumbling. Strange, I thought, that one hadn't come from me. I began laughing when I saw the drooling expression on the kid in front of me.

"What's your name kid?" I asked.

"Chris" he replied eagerly.

"Not real name, avatar name"

He blushed, "Umm, that is my avatar name. I'm not very creative."

I laughed. "My bad, sorry. I'm Sirius."

He looked to be only 12 or 13 years old. I wondered how he had got around the age restriction of 15. Australia was pretty damn strict about that stuff. He probably got an older brother to buy the game or something. An older brother who was probably kicking himself right now for letting his little brother get trapped in this idiotic death game.

I opened my inventory, selected the second loaf of bread I'd purchased for myself, and after it appeared in my hands, handed it to Chris.

"Eat up. Although you won't actually die of hunger in this game, I've heard the creator made the side-effects from not eating quite… unpleasant." A loud grumble from Chris's stomach supported my statement.

"Thanks" he said gratefully, taking the bread and wolfing it down. I laughed at the look on his face when he realized that his meal was already gone. It felt good to laugh again. I hadn't laughed since the debriefing of the death game yesterday. Laughing made me feel more like myself.

Chris seemed to notice this too. "You know, you're not that scary Sirius. When I first saw you, I thought I was going to die. You talked so angrily and loudly, but you actually laugh a lot and smile a lot."

I sighed, still regretting my earlier actions. "Sorry again kid, for yelling. I'm just not a morning person." The kid nodded his head at that serenely, as if for me to be anything but not a morning person would be sacrilegious.

"Can I ask why those guys were cornering you earlier?" I said, hoping the kid wouldn't break down or something when I asked this. Fortunately he seemed fine. He played with the air in front of him, and a small key materialized in his hand.

"An NPC gave this to me. It was completely random, and it seems that it's unique, a one off event. Those guys seemed to know exactly what the key did, and wanted it badly. There's probably a really good reward inside a treasure chest or something." The kid's eyes lit up when he mentioned treasure. I laughed at his childish behaviour, and ruffled his hair with my hand, but then gave him a serious look.

"Listen up, you cannot go looking for the treasure. What is treasure always guarded by?" I said, quizzing him.

"Monsters…" he replied, disappointedly.

"This isn't a game any more, it's life or death, and so you can't do anything stupid."

He nodded his head, reluctantly agreeing with me. Slowly, he reached over, and dropped the key on my lap.

"You should take it then. I'm just a kid who can't do anything. Besides, it just brings me trouble." His face was turned down from so I couldn't see the expression on his face, but the tone of his voice suggested pretty clearly what it would look like.

"I have a better idea." I said. I scrolled through my menu, and sent a friend request to him.

He looked up, at what I guess was a notification, the things that I had muted in my irritation of them.

"In one week, I'll come back here. By then, I'll be strong enough to find this treasure." I dropped the key into the kid's outstretched hand. "And you can come with me, and any treasure we find is yours. In return, you have to promise me you'll take care of yourself for the next week, and not do anything stupid."

The kid had a stupidly big grin on his face, as if someone had told him he was having Christmas twice in one year.

-Christ accepted your friend request-

"Now get out of here kid, I have things to do. Go make some friends and bother them"

He pouted, but turned around and begun to run away. Before he had taken three steps however, he turned around and spoke his parting words.

"Ignore what that mean ginger girl said. You're awesome Sirius,"

And then he was gone, disappearing into the depths of the crowds of NPC's and players that mingled with each other in the popular market district.

I typed a quick message to Chris, closed my menu, and headed off to the nearest weapon shop. It was time to train.

-One week and then we search for treasure~ Sirius-

* * *

**This chapter marks the beginning of the real story. Although it was a pretty long backstory, that's kinda what it seemed to me when I was writing the other chapters. I guess you could call that the first arc or something, and that now I'm starting the second arc.**

**I hope you like some of the new characters that have been added. I don't know how long I'll keep them around. People die all the time in SAO... hehehe...  
**

**Thanks to Generic Zero for a semi detailed review, and thanks to Lost Guy for your enthusiasm.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	6. Sword Art

The "Steel Broadsword" upon my back made for an impressive sight, especially in the midst of ragged, morose players who were still struggling with the concept of a death game. It had barely been more than half a day since that horrible speech, so it was no surprise that players were still living in their semi-comatose state. Surprise or not, it was still incredibly eerie and uncomfortable to have so many pairs of empty eyes follow me, so it was difficult to have pity for them.

I was lucky that I had been snapped out of my comatose state within minutes of hearing about the death game.

If one could consider discovering that they had murdered their best friend lucky.

But it had been a shock, and it had made me come to turns with this strange new world I would be stuck in for god knows how long. Death didn't frighten me like it should have.

Only my nightmares frightened me.

Understanding the basic concept of games, I realized that the only way to survive was to leave the "Starting City", fight monsters and level up. I would never say it out loud for fear of being called crazy, but the thought actually somewhat excited me. I was being given another chance at shaping my life, and although I had been perfectly content with my previous life, this opportunity still excited me.

I ran my hand across my back, feeling for my newly beloved sword. It, and the cheap leather sandals I had bought, had cost me all my remaining col. I had been forced to sell Daniel's rags and "Beginner's Sword", which had deteriorated to such a point it was worth less than a loaf of bread, but the sword had been essential, and I harboured no regrets about its purchase. It was almost a meter and a half long, and when slung over my back, the hilt started above my right shoulder, and ended with the point bouncing along my backside with every step I took. It was held in place by a basic leather strap, which provided no sheath for the naked blade.

I would have to make sure not to cut my ass off while running

The sandals had been an essential, I realized, as walking around barefoot for only a day had already triggered the programs "irritation" system. The irritation system created brain stimuli that caused feelings of irritation in specific parts of a player's body. In this case, the soles of my feet had been a constant source of irritation. It distracted me enough that it could be considered a dangerous ailment during battles, a time in which concentration was crucial.

I stopped inside of the giant arches that marked the north gate of "Starting City". Once I stepped outside the arches, I would be unprotected by the cities safety regulations. Stepping past this arch symbolized my acceptance of this death game.

I didn't complain about being stuck in a video game like some players, or tremble in fear about my possible death, and I didn't make any wishes about being back in the real world.

"Wishes wouldn't save lives," I murmured to myself as I strode past the foreboding shadow cast by the arch, and briskly marched away, never looking back.

* * *

My two hands gripped the leather wrapped hilt of my broad sword, and as I slid out of the way of the boar tusks, my sword followed a path from my right shoulder to my left hip, effectively slicing the boar in half. I smiled at my first kill. I had managed to kill the boar in three clean slices, using my pre-existing knowledge of the boar's movements, and my nimble attacking style.

I had previously discovered that even if I blocked an attack with my sword, I would lose a fraction of my health. Worse, the impact would stun me for an instant, and would interrupt my movement. I had decided to simply try avoiding attacks altogether. So far, the strategy worked perfectly.

It worked against boars at least.

I was about to violently acquire the aggression of another boar when a shout shocked me out of my focus.

"Hey, Sirius," said a short boy with blond hair and an awfully big nose, followed by an even shorter crony. I faced them warily making sure my blade was between us.

"What are you doing here Dark Blade?" I asked, none too nicely.

"Woah woah, easy there buddy. I came to apologize. Will you let me or are you gonna stick me with that sword?" Although I still didn't trust them, I regretted my morning rage, only slightly though. From my view they deserved most of it. I pointed my sword so that the tip was facing away from them, a more humane stance.

Dark Blade noticed that I hadn't sheathed my sword completely and chuckled. "Smart, don't trust strangers, that will be one of the first rules that this ridiculous game creates. But I'm no stranger right?" he asked grinning. I kept my sword raised, and Dark Blade just shrugged and continued. "I'm sorry for getting into that duel with you. I know that it must have looked like we were extorting that kid, but I swear we didn't even touch him. We just really wanted that key of his, and when we asked him for it, he broke down." He thought for a bit. "I guess I could have planned the whole thing out better, without intimidating him, but I had really wanted that key…"

I narrowed my eyes. "You know exactly what that key does," Dark Blade nodded in affirmation. "You're a beta player," I glanced at his small lackey, curly brown hair framing his squished in face. "You're both beta players."

Dark Blade nodded again, while his friend looked irritated that Dark Blade had revealed a valuable secret.

"Well, how about this, you teach me how to do those fancy moves of yours, and I'll forgive you."

Dark Blade had stopped nodding, a confused expression on his face, while his friends mouth was gaping open.

"You're not talking about sword skills are you?"

"If that's what it's called when your sword starts glowing and goes super powerful, then yeah."

"But how did you fight…" Dark Blade furrowed his brow as he thought back to our duel, and then he sighed. "You never used a sword skill in our duel did you." It wasn't a question. "I thought everyone knew about this, it's the main concept of the game."

He looked defeated as my curious expression remained on my face. "Very well, I'll teach you, but it's really damn simple, I don't see how you haven't used one on accident yet."

He drew his curved blade, and charged over to the boars. As he approached one, his blade went above his head, as he had done so many times in our duel, and the blade began to glow orange. The boar reacted to his presence, but before it could fight back, the curved sword had carved it in half, shattering it into colourful glistening polygons. He began walking back.

"Sword skills are a built in part of the program. All you need to do is get into the correct pose, with corresponding movements, and the system takes over and does the rest for you. There are drawbacks to the predictability of the attacks, but the speed, power, and damage bonuses greatly outweigh these."

I nodded, not mentioning the other draw back I had noticed in the duel. I had discovered that there was a lag time between when the move ended, and when the player regained control of their body. That was a drawback that could be easily utilized to an opposing players advantage, just as I had done in my duel with Dark Blade.

"Alright then… so what position should I be in for a sword skill with my broads sword."

"The basic sword skill for a two handed sword is called Vertical Crush. It's pretty basic, just raise your hands like this." Dark Blade mimicked holding a two handed blade by the pommel while drawing his hands back so that they were hovering by his ear.

"This backwards movement of the sword, almost as if you're sheathing the blade, starts Vertical Crush. All you have to do after that is wait for a… sensation to pass through you, and bring the sword down like this. He again mimicked the action, drawing his hands from his right ear to his left hip. I frowned, annoyed that he was mimicking a move I had already used three times on an aggravated boar without experiencing any glowing or strange sensations. Apart from the adrenaline, that was.

Deciding that the best course of action was to humour him, I raised my broadsword up to my right shoulder, so that the pommel was near my right ear, and the blade pointing behind me. I stood there, waiting for a "sensation" to flow though me. After five seconds of nothing but a growing sense of embarrassment, I dropped my pose.

"Whatever, I can just fight my own way," I said, angry that I had failed to do what was supposed to be simple. Dark Blade just frowned.

"Perhaps you weren't focused enough"

"I was as fucking focused as I always am"

"Try fighting a boar again then, and this time try to use a sword skill."

I grumbled as I walked over to a boar. "I was going to fight them anyway."

As one of the boars perked up their heads in detection of me, I readied both my blade and myself. The boar stomped it's foot on the ground twice, and began to charge at me, as was protocol. I leaned my body to the right, as if I was dodging in that direction, and the boars charge changed trajectory slightly. My right foot was supporting most of my body weight, and it was easy to push off it, and slide in the opposite direction, easily avoiding the charging boar.

At the same time, I raised my broadsword behind my right shoulder, and swung down with all the strength the system would let me muster. The sword bit into the boar's neck, and depleted a third of its health bar. No sword skill had activated. No glowing sword had appeared. No sensation had escalated in me.

I repeated my actions twice more, feeling very much like a Spanish bullfighter, but failed to activate Vertical Crush

"See, I can fight just fine without sword skills, I don't need them" I said, fuming that I couldn't seem to be able to activate a basic part of combat. Dark Blade just stood with his arm crossed over each other, a curious look on his face.

"But… why? Those attacks looked perfect, even without the system aiding you…" and then his eyes lit up as he struck upon a solution. "I bet you have the wrong skill equipped, you probably still have the "One Handed Sword Skill", am I right?"

I just stared. "What the bloody hell are you talking."

And Dark Blade just stared. "Good lord, don't tell me you don't even know what skills are?"

"Of course I do, you just explained it to me. Sword skills, Vertical Crush, magic swords and drug-induced sensations."

"Not sword skills you idiot, skills, regular skills, like, cooking, or stealth. No?"

I shook my head in confusion. Dark Blade shook his in defeat.

"Go to menu, stats, and at the bottom right of the screen there is a button labelled skills."

I flicked open my menu with fingers, and found the skills menu instantly, making me feel rather dense at not noticing earlier.

"At level one, you're only allowed three skill slots. For you, "Two Handed Sword Skill" is an essential. Well, unless you change weapon type. Just remember that if you ever change skills, they get reset to level one, so don't go casually changing them."

I scrolled through the ridiculous amount of skills, searching for the "Two Handed Sword Skill". I was going to have fun testing out some of these. Finally I found the "Two Handed Sword Skill", and as I dragged it into one of my empty skill slots, a message appeared on my screen.

- Two Handed Sword Skill: The basic combat skill for adventurers using two handed swords. -

- Level 1 unlock: Vertical Crush -

Beside the text was a small box, displaying a step-by-step tutorial on how to activate the sword skill. I groaned at how simple and straightforward it had all been. If it hadn't been for Dark Blade, who knows how long I would have unknowingly continued with my limitations.

Dark Blade had been watching me the whole time. His lackey was less interested, and had been playing with his own menu instead.

"Go on, try it out," said a grinning Dark Blade.

I faced the boars for the third time today, full of newfound confidence. As an agitated boar faced me, I ran up to it, swinging my blade behind my back. I felt the sensation Dark Blade had been unable to describe. It felt like pent up energy, ready to explode inside of you. My shoulder muscles contracted, and I brought my sword down. It was an unusual feeling, activating a Sword Skill. Although I was directing the attack, and could determine fine details, like where I wanted the point to land, and the amount of force behind the blow, I recognized that the sword was no longer in my control, and my body had surrendered itself to the system.

My sword shone with a white sheen, as bright as the stars in the sky.

And then the blade bit into the boar, and a squeal erupted from its mouth. The boar visibly flinched, and although I paused for a moment due to the sword skill lag, the boar remained stunned for a second longer than me. The boar's health bar was in critical red, less then 10% remaining. Dark Blade was right; the damage bonus definitely outweighed any drawbacks that arose from sword skills.

The boar remained stunned, and I quickly poked at it with my sword to drain its remaining health. I presumed that the stunning must have been a side effect of the sword skill. How useful, I mused.

As the boar shattered into a coloruful display of lights, a colourful display of text appeared in front of me.

-Level up-

I grinned. It was about time. Dark Blade noticed my grinning, but mistook it for my joy of discovering sword skills. I contemplated not telling him about my level up. Dark Blade was obviously stronger than me, judging by the way he had one hit KO the boar earlier, and I didn't want to inform him of just how weak I was.

However, he must already know by now that I was a hopeless player, only just now discovering sword skills, so it didn't really matter. Besides, he would be able to help me on making the right decisions for allotting the stat points I had just received with my level up.

"Hey, I just leveled up, what should I put my stats in?" I asked.

The lackey snorted at my ignorance. Dark Blade hit him over the head harshly. "Shut up Jarvis, this is our way of forgiving him remember. Besides, you asked me the same thing once upon a time." That wiped the smirk off of Jarvis's face. I was glad I had a name for that face now.

"You should have received three stat points, right?" I nodded in confirmation. "Right, so I'm not going to tell you how to level up your character, that's for you to decide. I'll instead tell you what I know about each stat."

He cleared his throat. "Strength is a vital requirement for being able to equip weapons. Generally, the more a weapon weighs, the more damage it can do. Naturally strength will also increase damage output. It also effects everyday actions, and contributes to the amount of gear you can carry before being over encumbered and start receiving movement penalties. Considering your weapon choice, its probably going to become pretty essential for you.

"Agility is how fast you can move and how high you can jump. It's useful in battle, but probably more useful for traveling and exploring, as running speeds can approach speeds beyond belief."

"Dexterity increases how fast one can attack, and the ability to cause crippling strikes when critical or vulnerable locations of an enemy are attacked. Dexterity is more useful for one-handed sword players, who rely on quick, continuous attacks. Kind of like me with my curved blade"

"Perception enables players to see further, with clearer eyesight. It allows them to notice fine details while in combat, which can help immensely, as it often leads to the discovery of weaknesses and critical locations."

"Vitality correlates directly with health, but also provides benefits and quicker recovery times against poisons and status ailments. In a death game, this stat may actually be the most useful."

"And finally, luck. No one really knows what luck does. It's always at an unknown value, and skill points cannot be spent on it. I guess everyone starts off with a different value, a bit unfair if you ask me, but I'm not the one who made this damn death world."

Dark Blade sighed, relieved that his tutorial was almost over. He had begun to sound like an NPC near the end there.

"I just gave a brief overview of each skill. What you have to remember is that every one of those stats will aid you in your various skills. You will never become a successful pickpocket if your dexterity stat is low, no matter how hard you train. Likewise, you will never be able to track a player if you have a low perception. You have to think carefully about what kind of skills you want, and then select your stats." He stopped for a second to catch his breath. "But don't think too much about it right now. This is your first stat upgrade, it will not make an impact at all on your final character, no matter what you choose." He grimaced. "That's if you survive, that is."

I felt overloaded by information, but incredibly thankful that I had sacrificed my pride and asked for help. This information would be essential for me to create a well-defined character.

"Thanks, looks like you've earned your forgiveness," I said with a grin, deeply grateful I had decided to ask him for help.

Looking at my stats, I decided to spread them out evenly, allotting one point into strength, agility and vitality. Strength so I could wield my sword easier, agility, because speed matched my fighting style, and vitality because I was scared of dying.

I smiled as I pressed "accept", feeling incredibly good about myself. I looked over at my temporary teacher, and noticed that he was getting ready to leave. Jarvis had begun to stand up, wiping artificial grass off of his clothes. I felt bad about my initial judgment of these two players. I had caught them in a bad moment, and had allowed my own suspicious to cloud my emotions.

Before closing my menu I opened up my Relations menu, and sent a friend request to both Dark Blade and Jarvis. They both looked at me suspiciously, neither of them accepting.

"I owe you an apology, I doubted your intentions, and the fight this morning was as much my fault as it was yours. I can't offer you anything like you did for me. You both know more than me about anything here." Jarvis harrumphed in agreement. I ignored him, continuing with my apology. "What I can offer you though is an invitation to participate in that quest you two were so interested in."

They both perked up at this. Whatever the reward of this quest was, it must have been impressive, and they knew it.

"With one condition however," they both flinched "Chris, the boy who owns the key, gets the final treasure. Everything else is split between the four of us evenly."

"Like hell he gets it" spat Jarvis, "That rewards ours!"

Dark Blade hit him over the head again and Jarvis submitted, but glared angrily at Dark Blade. Dark Blade was oblivious to this, or he chose to ignore it. Either way, Dark Blade accepted my friend request.

"We're in," said Dark Blade "Don't expect us to carry your dead body newbie"

"One week and we start the quest. I'm honestly relieved you guys are coming along. I don't know the first thing about quests." I said to Dark Blade. He grinned, happy that he had someone who was relying on him for help.

Jarvis however, chose to decline my friend request. "Don't think you're getting any helpful advice from me. And that treasure at the end is mine, I'll make sure of it," and he stormed off. Dark Blade sighed with annoyance at Jarvis, gave me a friendly wave of goodbye, and chased after his companion.

I took back half of what I had said about my initial judgement. I had only misjudged Dark Blade. It appeared that Jarvis was the cocky, selfish brat I had imagined him to be when I first met him. I was going to have to watch my back around him.

* * *

**Yup, I made the bad guys good guys, begging for forgiveness for there sins, how original. Or maybe they'll backstab Sirius in the next few chapters. Who knows? Well, I do I guess. You'll all just have to wait.**

**Yeah, I've been blasting out the chapters. I'm having a lot of fun writing, so as long as the fun keeps up, expect to see updates every few days.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	7. Aricana

My sword slashed down upon the target, and raked across their sword, as metallic screeching filled my ears. Becka just laughed as the cut rebounded uselessly of her seemingly unyielding defence. Her laugh cut into me sharper than her blade did, singeing my mind with acid and poison. My hands were shaking in fear, and my blade wouldn't steady. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live. I screamed non-coherently, raised my sword, and tried to run at her, but for some reason I couldn't move.

Something was holding my ankles. It felt like dry ice had been applied to my bare skin, and when I looked down I saw half a torso rising from the ground, with bare hands gripping my feet. A grin formed on its face, which spread into a smile, as its body begun shaking in anticipation. Black hair whipped around, and as it lifted its face up, Daniel smiled manically at me. Cackling welled up in his throat, and the shadows of the night seemed to screech with him.

I felt myself being dragged into the earth, and begun screaming as my feet were sucked into the ground. The pain coursing through my body was intense, and Daniels cackling tore at my mentality. When a higher pitched female laughter joined in with Daniel, I panicked even more, and begun struggling, trying to tear my feet out of the quicksand like ground. Becka's honey brown eyes sparkled with revenge, glistening with madness, craving for blood. She withdrew a dagger from her hip, and began stalking towards me

I struggled harder, but Daniel just grinned maniacally, and pulled me harder. Becka stalked closer, mouth gaping open while maniacal laughter flowed out. I raised my sword against her, but it was a futile effort, I was in no position to fight with Daniel towing me towards hell. Becka didn't raise her blade at me; she simply continued to walk closer to me, until the tip of my blade was poised against her stomach.

And then she kept walking without breaking stride. Her skin tore open, and blood pulsed from her stomach as the sword was plunged into her. The viscous red liquid ran down the blade, staining my hands, but she never stopped walking. She never stopped laughing. She just kept staring at me with the glistening madness in her eyes. When her stomach had coursed through the whole blade and was resting against my pommel, she raised her dagger, and brought it down into my heart.

I saw Rhythm watching me from a distance, and I tried to scream out to him for help, but all that came out was a choking cry. Becka's blade had slit my throat, and blood was gurgling out of my mouth instead of my pleas. Rhythm seemed to comprehend what I was trying to communicate however, like he always could. Instead of helping though, he just shook his head disappointedly, before turning around and walking away.

I gave up.

I let Daniel pull my body into the earth, and watched as Becka raised her dagger above her head, preparing for the final stab. Her honey brown eyes flashed red, her blood splattered lips smiled, her face screamed revenge, and her dagger screeched in death.

I flung myself awake, breathing hard, as the moonlight cast sickly glows around me. I threw my head side to side, looking for ghosts, or enemies, or friends. I screamed in fear, in rage, in self-pity at my weakness. I cried at my worthlessness, my repulsiveness, and collapsed back into my ragged straw bed. I whimpered as I curled up in the fetus position, and waited until the fire red of sunrise would save me from my nightmares.

* * *

I was pacing the streets of "Aricana", a small town, very small in comparison to "Starting City", and exploring this player deserted location. I had arrived in "Aricana" last night, three days after I had made my promise with Chris to hunt for treasure. Last night I had become so absorbed in fighting wolves that I had ignored an important life-saving rule: Never hunt at night.

The wolves were level two creatures, one level above the boars. The wolves were much more dangerous to attack then boars. Although they actually caused less damage with each attack than the boars had, wolves rarely attacked on their own, and instead chose to attack in packs. This meant it was very easy to get surrounded, and already there were rumours of several players who had succumbed to the fangs and teeth of wolves.

I was level three, having gained an extra level off the boars. It had unfortunately taken a good six hours of training over the course of a day to gain that one level off of the boars, and I had realized that if I were to continue levelling at a reasonable rate, I would have to advance to higher-level creatures.

So the next day I tested my blade against the fangs of the wolves and found my sword dominated quite efficiently. The increased EXP per monster was definitely a boon, and after four hours of fighting throughout the morning I was level four. Not only that, but my "Two Handed Sword Skill" had reached level sixteen. I had reached level four at 12:00, and after a quick lunch break I had decided that my goal was to reach level five before I retreated to a town, so I had gone back to swinging my broadsword at the wolves.

Vertical Crush was incredible. If the sword skill landed squarely on a wolf, it would deplete more than half of its health bar, and stun the wolf for two to three seconds. This side effect had become an essential component in my fights.

I would often encounter wolves in packs of three. Using the initiative as often as possible, I would utilize the wolf's weak point, their snout, and using an upward slash would slice at the leading wolf's nuzzle, often causing it to release a whimper. With my blade raised upwards, I would be able to easily prepare my sword skill for the second wolf, stunning it for a few crucial seconds. Vertical Crush Had a twelve second cool down, which essentially meant that I could only use it once per battle.

With my blade back down at waist level, the finishing pose of Vertical Strike, I would execute a horizontal swinging attack that would more often than not, strike both the first and the third wolf. If this strike hit the first wolf, it would shatter into non-existence, which left me with the pleasure of dealing with the third wolf without interruption. By the time the third wolf was a shower of colourful polygons, the second would have recovered form my Vertical Crush, but by itself it was of little threat to me, and I would be able to easily dispatch it. This process took me about thirteen seconds on average, and with about two minute intervals between fights I had butchered many wolves that afternoon.

But it hadn't been enough wolves, and when the clock had hit 6:30 pm and dusk had settled I was still fighting trying to reach level five. It was when the moonlight became the only source of light in the deserted plain lands that the wolves had changed. Their fur grew longer and more ragged, legs grew and the creatures became hunched over as they displayed their newly profound muscles. Glistening stale yellow in the moonlight, their eyes were the most horrifying aspect.

During the day, the wolves had just been trying to protect themselves. Now they were out for blood.

I had been contemplating whether I should continue levelling (I had been so close to level five), when two wolves leapt at me simultaneously. I swung my sword sideways at them, and smirked as I realized my slash would hit both of them.

But it didn't hit either of them; the wolves dropped their haunches and slipped under my blade at an incredible speed, and rocketed up at my chest, jaws snapping at my throat and heart. I kicked one of them back, and slammed the pommel of my sword into the other's forehead while quickly retreating. I looked at their health bars and noticed three things.

One, they had not lost a visible piece of health from my counterattack.

Two, they were no longer called "Wolves", but "Dire Wolves"

Three, They were all level six, two levels above me.

Maybe against one I would have stood a chance, but against three, that's impossible.

"Wait a minute, where's the wolf?" I thought. My chain of thinking saved my life at this instant.

My neck prickled, and the hairs on my arm rose. I swung myself around, raising my blade above my right shoulder. My sword glowed star bright and was brought down in the nick of time. The blade was moving at a faster than normal speed, due to the properties of sword skills, and the third dire wolf had been unable to avoid the attack. My blade landed firmly along its neck, and it collapsed to the ground, growling as the stun effect took place.

I didn't have to look behind me to hear that the other two dire wolves were chasing me, so I simply began running. I ran as fast as the system would allow me, my legs pumping against the grasslands. I ran until I could not longer hear the wolves, and then I ran further. I kept running, running for what felt like hours until I reached a small town on the outskirts of a forest.

I tore my way through the gates of safety before collapsing to the ground in mental exhaustion. I looked at the time on my menu, 7:15; I had been running for 45 minutes.

I groaned when I realized how stupid I had been, ignoring the commonplace rule of no hunting at night time. Well at least I knew why now. Monster became more aggressive and powerful. It created the most dangerous situation players could be involved in.

Too tired to do anything more for the night, I had made my way to the nearest inn, paid the required col for the night and collapsed on my straw bed. The nightmares that had soon followed however, were much more horrifying than the wolves.

* * *

I strolled into the town centre, and discovered several stalls composed of wooden stands accompanied by cloth tarps that cast refreshing shadows on players who stopped to observe the NPC's wares. I visited each stall, buying and selling various things. I was incredibly happy when I realized that the materials I had acquired off of the wolves sold for twice the price that the boar materials had. When you also take into account the extra col that the wolves gave compared to the boars, I had a substantial amount of currency.

I restocked up on health potions, food and water, but still had more than enough col remaining. Deciding it was time to repair my broadsword for the second time (I had repaired it two nights ago, after fighting boars all day), I headed to the shop that occupied the largest area, the blacksmith. It was called "Aricana Weaponary", and when I walked in, an attractive NPC lady greeted me at the stall, while an older grizzled man with long white hair and a full beard worked intensely at the furnace.

Deciding not to talk with the blacksmith, preferring to experience the pleasing sensation of female socialization, even if it was only an NPC, I asked her to repair my broadsword.

She smiled at me sweetly, but her voice was very timid. "Y-your s-sword will be r-ready i-in three minutes. P-pl-please relax i-in the m-meantime." I guess she was meant to be one of those incredibly shy beauties that only exist in fairy tales and video games. Well, this is technically a video game I reminded myself. It was too easy to forget that this wasn't the real world sometimes.

I strolled around the designated blacksmith area, examining the weapons, picking up a few of the more interesting ones and giving them a few swings. I tried to keep my swinging to a minimum, as the timid NPC appeared ready to faint every time I swung a sword.

There were some claymores on display that were of better quality than my current broadsword, but I couldn't even hold them off the ground. Apparently my strength requirement was not great enough for these massive weapons. I accepted my repaired blade from the timid girl, and left the shop disappointedly. I had wanted a new weapon. I loved my broadsword, and it had served me well these past two days, but living in a death game required me to be the best of the best, which included equipment.

I walked over to the last stall, and discovered in glee that it was an armour shop. What a perfect way to spend my col. I had bought some basic clothes at the "Starting City", long tan pants and a plain dark blue comfortable shirt. The clothes had drained the last of my col however, and I had been unable to purchase any defensive apparel.

The blacksmith had displayed some full plated steel body army, which was both expensive and heavy. Not only would my strength requirements be inefficient, and my savings insufficient, but I was worried the heavy armour may result in my death. So far, my fighting strategy relied heavily upon being able to dodge enemy's attacks completely, and the 60% movement penalty that applied to heavy armour would render my style completely ineffective.

Of course, people would eventually wonder why I used heavy two-handed weapons if I relied so much on being agile. For some reason, I just felt certain my heavy hitting, agile class I was developing would succeed me in this death game.

A rather bland, middle-aged shopkeeper was in charge of the armour stall, and I courteously greeted him, despite NPC's not reacting differently to courteous greetings. It was just a habit from the real world.

Unlike "Aricana's Weaponry", which had all of it's stock on display, this stall had it's inventory displayed in a navigable trade menu. Each item had an image displaying the armour, with armour ratings, movement penalties, requirements, and bonus abilities the piece of apparel may contain.

I was disappointed when a full set of the lightest armour, soft leather, came with a 20% movement penalty. That kind of penalty was too dangerous. As I examined each individual piece of the armour, I noticed that the leg piece and chest piece resulted in 15% of the movement's penalty. The helmet also had quite a movement penalty. I smiled as I came up with a plan.

I purchased only the leather boots, which were a huge improvement in comfort from the shabby sandals I had been previously wearing, and leather vambraces, which began at my wrist, and ended at me elbows. With only a 3% movement penalty, I felt satisfied with my purchase. The armour provided me with 7 points of defence, and although I was unsure of exactly what this value meant, I assumed that it was low, incredibly low.

It wasn't the 7 points of defence that satisfied me though, it was the options it would enable me within battle. With boots on instead of sandals, kicks would become much more effective, and with armour on my forearms, I would be able to negate a large portion of damage if I managed to defend with them.

It would hopefully prevent my arm from being cut off again any time soon.

The SAO armour system was unique in this aspect. Just wearing armour of any sort gave the player a total defence bonus, which meant that no matter where they were hit, the damage received would be reduced. However, if the player could use armour effectively, and block incoming attacks directly, the damage received would be reduced even more than normal. It was possible to even completely negate damage sometimes.

My armour and my clothes mismatched, and I did not look fashionable at all, but there were no players currently in this city to comment on my looks.

"Nice armour amigo," said a voice from behind me. I groaned as I turned around, and found a player who looked to be in their mid-twenties, in steel chain armour with a sword and shield strapped to his back.

I just laughed, more at my unluckiness than anything else. The player must have just arrived in "Aricana". I held out my hand.

"The name's Sirius"

"MartinX, but you can just call me Martin," he said, and I noticed a faint Spanish accent tinging his colourful voice.

"You're Spanish"

"Si, well, half anyway, on my mother's side. I moved to Australia about 6 years ago."

I nodded. It wasn't unusual to see a wide diversity of people in Melbourne, as it was the most diverse ethnic city in Australia. Because SAO was based solely in Melbourne, there would be an interesting diversity of players. I pondered this thought, wondering if players of similar ethnic backgrounds would eventually band together.

"Do you need some more col for the rest of your armour?" he asked. What a generous soul.

"No, it's fine, I only bought this much on purpose. I didn't want to suffer the movement penalties."

"But you have such a big sword." he said confused.

I sighed. The questions were already beginning and we hadn't even left the first floor. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just how I fight, alright."

"It's alright amigo, no need to get angry."

"I'm not angry."

"Don't raise your voice amigo."

"You're making me."

"You're doing it yourself amigo."

"Can you stop calling me amigo"?

"Only when you cheer up amigo."

I sighed. "So Martin, what are you doing here? I don't suppose a pack of bloodthirsty dire wolves also chased you here?"

He sat on a bench, and indicated for me to sit, and I followed suit. His maroon eyes sparkled as he faced me, and I could see strands of curly black hair wisping from his steel helmet. His sharp nose, along with his cheerful smile, gave him the image of a rather good-looking individual. Definitely knight material, and his next comment seemed to flow from his mouth perfectly.

"I'm here on a quest"

* * *

**So, what do you think of Martin? Considering that his character came to me at the spur of the moment, I'm quite proud of him. That aside, is anyone getting sick of the fighting scenes? I'm writing a few chapters ahead, and I can assure you there are_ plenty_ more... perhaps too many. If you think it's getting too ridiculous, let me know,**

**Preferably before I begin posting the battle scenes :P**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	8. The Spaniard

Martin planted his feet on the ground, and deflected a cluster of whip-like lashes from a tree branch against his shield. His heavy armour and steel shield enabled him to soak up damage like it was nothing, and the large, tree shaped monster was struggling to land any attacks on the Spaniards seemingly impervious defence.

The "Living Oak" finished its chain of attacks, and as it regathered itself in preparation for another barrage, I launched myself from behind my steel encompassed party member, and with a glow of starlight, I slew my broadsword down using Vertical Crush. The attack cut off one of the living oak's tree branch appendages, and removed 20% of its health bar.

More importantly, it reeled back in a daze, and Martin stepped in to begin his barrage of attacks. His short sword danced through his fingers as he intricately twirled his blade between strikes. Each blow chipped away a few percentages of the tree's health bar, but with the tree unable to respond from its stunned status, Martin had quickly managed to cut its health down by 10 more percent.

The living oak regained itself, and whipped out its remaining tree branch appendage, clipping the Spaniard in his chest. Although his heavy armour absorbed most of the damage, it still depleted 20% of his health. I winced as I imagined the damage a blow like that would do to me.

The "Living Oak" was at level four, and was the strongest opponent Martin and I had fought yet. We were both level four as well, and had come to the conclusion that two against one were respectable enough odds for us to survive. The battles against these monsters went on for several minutes, as our blades had trouble penetrating the tree's high defence. But as long as we fought strategically, speed didn't matter, and it was always only a matter of time until the tree would be destroyed.

The beginning of the battle was always the worse. The "Living Oaks" would launch a barrage of attacks from its right and left tree branch appendages, and with only a second of rest between it's chained attacks, I often missed my opportunity to jump in and stun the monster. Martin's single-handed blade could barely scratch the tree's surface, but my two handed broadsword was powerful enough to sever the tree's limbs.

Once a limb was severed the fight became much easier, and could be finished in less then a minute. Martin would be able to defend against the remaining limb, and I could attack in a frenzy without having to worry about an unoccupied limb whipping into me.

Following this pattern, 30 seconds later, the "Living Oak" in front of us decomposed into a flutter of bright lights that floated to the ground like snow. My party inventory flashed, signifying that the loot from the monster had been split between Martin and I.

"Hey amigo, I received another "Flawless Oak Branch"."

"Stop calling me amigo!"

"Alright amigo." He said, completely ignoring me. "That means we have thirteen now, si? Seven more to go and we're done with my quest."

"Glad to see you can count, Spaniard"

"Eh"

"Spaniard, that's what I'm calling you from now"

"Not bad, it's got a nice ring to it. Martin the Spaniard," he proclaimed with a flourish of his hands, "Thanks amigo."

"Why won't he listen to me? Dear God, why won't he listen to me?"

Martin just laughed. "Come on amigo, I'd like to finish this quest before night settles." And before I could argue any more, he ran up to a recently spawned "Living Oak" and attempted to slash at it with his sword, before quickly retreating behind his shield. I swore at him, but he just responded with colourful laughter. I watched until a tree branch managed to break through his defence, and then I dashed up to aid him.

Martin had explained the quest to me this morning as we had sat on the bench in Aricana together. It was a pretty standard quest, especially in RPG games. The goal was to simply collect X number of Y. In this case, it was twenty Flawless Oak Branch's, and the only way to collect them was to hunt the tree like abominations, known as Living Oaks. We had killed over thirty of them today, as it seemed the drop rate for the Flawless Oak Branch was only about 50%, meaning we would have to kill about forty of them to complete this quest.

I had not worried about the amount of tree's we had slaughtered. In fact, I would have preferred if we could have been killing more of them. The EXP they gave us was greater than that received from wolves, even when it was split between the two of us. That, and the amount of col we received for each victory was considerable.

As the current Living Oak fell and we received our fourteenth quest object, a message appeared on my screen. It was a beautiful message, equivalent of receiving a love letter from an unknown girl in your locker.

-Level Up-

I gave a loud cheer, to which Martin looked at me curiously before I explained it. I modified my stats with my precious stat points, and eyed them proudly.

Strength: 10

Agility: 8

Dexterity: 5

Perception: 7

Vitality: 7

I had decided to all but abandon dexterity. I was not a thief, I would not be using small, dextrous weapons, and I would sure as hell not be making any cakes any time soon. Strength and agility were my highest, as my two biggest fortitudes in fighting was the strength of my attacks, and my agile dodging ability.

I had raised perception for one my three skills I had chosen. The "Spotting" skill relied heavily on the player's perception stat. The higher my spotting skill, the easier, and further away, I would be able to spot enemies or other players. I felt that in a death game ambushes would be one of the more dangerous situations players would be in, and the greatest way to avoid that would be to have a high spotting skill.

I had raised vitality simply because I was scared of dying. Although I hoped to avoid all attacks, it would inevitable that I would be hit my some eventually, and I did not want to be killed in one hit in an unfortunate accident. Therefore I increased my vitality, which in turn increased my health.

"So you're level five huh amigo? What level are your skills?

I refrained from complaining about being called amigo. "Two Handed Sword Skill" is 23, "Spotting" is 13 and "Acrobatics" is 16."

"Acrobats? You training to be a ballerina amigo?"

"No, you dense Spaniard. It's for my fighting style. It helps me avoid attacks. Just accepting the skill allows me to jump higher than normal." I jumped, showing him. He raised his eyebrows, obviously not recognizing any difference in my jumping height than anyone else's.

"Well, suit yourself amigo."

"You're just jealous because you can't even jump in that armour of yours."

"As I said, suit yourself amigo."

"Stop calling me amigo!"

"Alright amigo"

* * *

We had collected twenty Flawless Oak Branches by late afternoon, and both us were eager to leave. Martin, because he wanted to finish the quest, and receive his reward, me because I knew first hand how monsters got at night time, and did not want to experience that with level four tree monsters.

We talked as we walked back to Aricana in the fading sunset. The hunting location for Martin's quest was located five minutes away from the small town, and apparently the small towns main purpose revolved around Martin's quest.

"So, how did you discover Aricana without starting the quest amigo?" He paused suddenly, "Don't tell me you're a beta player?"

"I'm not a beta player, and stop calling me-"

"Then how did you discover Aricana" He was genuinely curious, I hoped my story wouldn't disappoint him.

"I was chased by a pack of blood thirsty dire wolves from the rolling plains all the way to this town."

"But, amigo, that's like, two hours walk from here."

"Yeah I know, I ran flat out for forty-five minutes"

Martin started laughing his colourful laugh, obviously not disappointed with my story. "Did they bite your ass amigo? I should call you Sirius wolf-bites-the-ass"

"I'd prefer that to amigo" I muttered

"What was that amigo?"

"Nothing,"

We passed through the gates that represented the entrance of a safe zone. In this case it was the town Aricana. There was still some daylight left in the sky, so we hurried to the market to sell some of the excess items we had collected from the Living Oaks.

"I wonder what oak sap is used for?" I mused, while selling 23 of them to a vendor.

"How do you know it's used for anything?"

"Well, in games like this, usually every single object has a use, sometime, someplace, somehow." The oak sap had been received into my inventory within small glass vials, so I presumed that it would be used for potions, or poisons.

"Maybe it's used for cooking?"

"I sure as hell am not eating any of your food from now on amigo."

"Who the hell ever said I was going to give you food?"

We were interrupted by a noise that conflicted with the consistent background chatter of NPC's. A party of three players were walking through the town, talking and laughing loudly. A rather cheerful bunch, I thought, rather too cheerful for the likes of me. The voices sounded young, as if they came from 16 year olds, and I was not mistaken when I saw them enter the town centre where the market was located. They noticed Martin and I, and promptly walked over to us.

"Hey losers." The kid in the middle yelled at us, while his two lackeys guffawed at this. These were not the kinds of kids I got along with. Cocky and self-arrogant, yet to live in a world where they weren't support by "mummy".

"Get out of here kids, we don't have time for you." I said.

"Oh it seems you have plenty of time, you're just sitting here doing nothing."

"Hey, show some respect to your seniors," said Martin, apparently liking the kids as much as I did.

"Pfft, respect, who the hell needs that in this stupid game"

I stood up suddenly and angrily, enraged that this bratty little kid had called this a stupid game, a stupid game that had resulted in Daniel's death.

"Listen up kid-"

"You can't fight us," said the kid, interrupting me. "We're in a safe zone, you can't even lay a scratch on us. Besides, we're probably stronger than you anyway." His friends snickered at this, and I was honestly curious as to what there level was, but I refrained myself from asking

"It doesn't matter kid, just get out of here," said Martin.

"Shut up you stupid Mexican, no one wants you hear you speak" the kids chuckled at the joke like it was a stroke of genius. I could almost hear Martin snarling at that comment, but the young teens ignored him. "Besides, we just want information, and if you don't give it to us, we'll just hang around you all night, annoying you, and we can be pretty good at that, right guys?" they all chuckled again.

Concerned about what kind of night I was going to have to experience, I gave in, realizing that as soon as we told them what they wanted, they would indeed bugger off on their own free will.

"D'ya know where the "Living Oaks" are?"

I nodded, and pointed over my shoulder to the forest that loomed over the city. At night it was particularly daunting, and queer sounds could be heard from it if one strained their ears. "Head in that direction for five minutes, you can't miss it, alright. Now bugger off."

"Thanks loser" said the middle kid, who I now presumed was the leader of dumb, dumber and dumbest. The kids then turned around and began to walk towards the gate. I begun to worry, realizing what they were going to do.

"Hey wait kids, where the hell do you think you're going"

"What's that got to do with you?" one of them shouted, but another responded differently "We're going to fight "Living Oaks"."

"At night? Are you insane? Don't you know the first thing about this game?"

The middle kid looked at us angrily as he could. "It's wimpy people like you that ruin this game. "You can't do this, you can't fight that, we won't even let you hold a sword because that's dangerous." That's all bullshit, we can do what we want, and you can't stop us." and with that, the stupid trio walked off into the darkness.

"Forget about them" muttered Martin. "If they die it's their own fault." He was still fuming over the Mexican comment.

I honestly agreed with him, but it didn't settle the nagging feeling in my gut. Deciding that a change of scenery would be good for us, we decided to head over to a restaurant for dinner. I had foregone dinner last night, due to the shock of being chased by Dire Wolves, so I had yet to visit any restaurants in Aricana.

It turned out there was only one, and it went by the name of "Howling Woods". Not the most attractive name, but the restaurant was well lit and furnished, and the aromas that were flowing out were messing with out brain signals, some function of the Nerve Gear, and we were attracted inside like bees to honey.

We sat down in silence, neither of us talking. A pretty NPC waiter came up to take our orders, and we sullenly relayed our request for the house special, thick green pea soup with a meat pie, traditionally known as a "Pie Floater" in Australia.

The meal had only just arrived when Martin finally exploded. "Fine, fine, we'll rescue those damn kids." I just raised an eyebrow, "Oh don't tell me you don't want to rescue them too, you were more worried then me amigo."

"I already told you, don't call me amigo!" I said, feigning anger in place of the relief that washed through my body.

"Whatever you say, amigo," Martin said, grinning from ear to ear. He stood up and held out his hand to me. "Ready?"

I grasped his hand, and he pulled me up out the seat. "Ready," I replied, grinning back at him.

* * *

I had run ahead of Martin, as his heavy armour slowed his down considerably, and my agility stat was much higher than his. We had both agreed that it would be dangerous for him to remove his armour at night, even if it was just temporary. In SAO, you didn't know what hid in the darkness.

I covered the ten-minute walking distance to the tree in 2 minutes. Hopefully the kids had walked there, instead of running like I had. I needed all the time I could scavenge.

I heard the scream of kids, and panicked. "Those little fucking brats better be safe," I growled to myself. As I broke into the clearing in which Martin and I had spent so long fighting in this afternoon, my fears were confirmed. There were no Living Oaks anywhere to be seen. Instead, there was one massive tree abomination in the middle of the clearing. "The Giant Oak" appeared above the monster, as well as a health bar, which had been untouched, and a level number.

"Level six…" this was bad. It was one level stronger than me, and two levels strong then Martin, and judging by the state of the kids, at least three levels stronger then them.

I hesitated when I discovered the tree's level, frozen in contemplation. Should I fight and risk my life? Or sacrifice the kids and survive? Before I could answer myself, a giant tree branch whipped around the Giant Oak, and caught one of the kids in the head. He screamed as he was flung into the air, and as he hit the ground he shattered into a thousand tears of light that glimmered in the dark, moonlit forest.

That was when I decided that I would willingly risk my life for another. In the past I had wondered what kind of person I would be in situations like this. I had always been scared that I would betray my own morals, and sacrifice others in order to survive.

I was glad to know that I could still trust myself.

There was no more time for hesitation, so I rushed at the monster, activating my sword skill Vertical Crush. I struck down upon one its tree branches, hoping to sever it. Although it was larger and stronger than the Living Tree Oak's, it still had the same characteristics, and fought the same. Just like how the Dire Wolves were the same as the regular wolves, the "Giant Oak" was the same as the "Living Tree Oaks".

My blade had not severed the branch, which worried me, but I continued with my attack, desperate to use the precious few seconds I gained from Vertical Crush's side effect. I swung my body around, bringing the sword with me in a twirling, horizontal strike, but my attack was interrupted when a giant tree branch intercepted my attack. I paused in surprise, confused as to how the tree had not been stunned. Perhaps it was too big of an enemy to be stunned? Or maybe because it was higher levelled then me?

Whatever the reason was, I was in trouble. A branch whipped towards my head, and I dropped onto the ground, narrowly avoiding the oak club. The other appendage of the tree began a vertical attack, aimed at the ground that was beneath me. I rolled my body backwards out of the way, and using the momentum from my roll I pushed myself back up on my feet. I jumped just in time as the branch on the ground whipped at my feet.

Thank god I had the "Acrobatics" skill, else I would never have been able to manoeuvre like that.

The tree had paused momentarily in its attack, and I launched myself at it, hoping for a quick blow or two. My earlier sword skill had chipped away 10% of its health, but that was a long way from dead. I let my broadsword hang below my right hip, and I swung it diagonally upwards with as much force as my arms could muster.

The sword slashed into body of the Giant Oak, and it slid back slightly. I grinned as I realized I had the momentum of battle in my control. With my blade now above my left shoulder, I swung it around my head, imbedding my large blade into the trunk of the tree. My sword skill had recharged, and was ready for use again. I placed my left foot in front of me, preparing myself for the attack. I raised my broadsword above my right shoulder, and proceeded to use my sole sword skill again. I stepped in with my right foot to increase the amount of force behind the impact, and watched as the tree's health bar was lowered to 70%.

The Giant Oak slipped back a whole meter, quite a considerable feat considering it's size and weight, but the tree was not stunned, and I remembered what the fatal flaw of sword skills was. There was a lag time between using the skill and regaining control of your body. So all I could do was watch as tree branches from the left and right caved towards me.

The branches crashed against sword and steel as the Spaniard stood in front of me, taking the brunt of the attack. "Hey amigo. It's good to see you again," he said jokingly.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" I said, as I positioned myself behind him as I had done countless times today. "Don't call me amigo."

"Alright amigo."

And then the onslaught began. The Great Oak crashed its branches down upon Martin, who in return bashed the branches away with his shield. It was with a grim observation that I realized that Martin was losing health with each impact he took, unlike when he fought a normal Living Tree Oak, in which his defence was high enough to negate all damage.

He was not going to be able defend forever.

Being bolder than usual, I shouted out "Shift! Shift! Shift!" and jumped in front of Martin, taking advantage of what may or may not have been a pause in the tree's chain of attacks.

Either way, I managed to slip through its defences and begun launching attacks against its right tree branch appendage. If I could just sever one of them, we would be able to win. I slammed my broadsword upon the appendage three times, and finally with Vertical Strike, and with an ear-shattering crack that could be heard throughout the forest, the branch snapped.

Martin cheered as he rushed in to defend me from a branch that was being delivered to my chest. He was unable to get his shield down in time, and was only able to defend with his short sword. He was thrown back as he lost 40% of his health. I shivered when I realized that blow would have at least halved my health.

I couldn't pause to worry though; Martin had thrown himself back into the fight almost immediately, and I made to follow. With only one tree branch remaining, Martin was able to divert its attention onto him, giving me ample time and space to cause as much damage as I could to the severed side of the tree.

The tree finally succumbed to its death after being barraged by my vicious attacks. Throughout the battle I had been untouched, but Martin had suffered greatly, his health now at the 30% mark. I threw him a basic health potion, even though I was sure he had plenty of his own. It was just a friendly gesture, recognition of his hard work throughout the fight.

As Martin collapsed to the ground, waiting for the effects of the potion to kick in, I turned around to face the two remaining kids who had watched the entire fight in silence and awe.

I was about to reprimand them harshly when one of them starting snivelling, and the other one had tears openly flowing down his face. The one who was gone was the loudmouthed leader.

I didn't have it in me to reprimand them. They were struggling enough as it was. Besides, I was certain it would be a long time before they ventured out again, and that when they did, they would be taking many precautions.

So all I said was "Come on, let's go," and my rag tag party picked themselves off the ground, and we trudged back to the town of Aricana.

* * *

**Well, it was a fun chapter to write, I don't know how fun it'll be to read. If you enjoy the all these fight scenes, let me know, if you don't enjoy them, well, I'll see what I can do.**

**Here's thanks to "Blinded in a bolthole" for his chapter by chapter reviews. I'm glad that someone appreciates my writing, even though I'm not too sure if he actually enjoys it so far... hehe...**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	9. The Memorial Stone

The large, rectangular and curved scutum shield glistened in the artificial daylight that pulsed down upon Martin and I. Martin was smiling gleefully as he stared lovingly at his new shield. The twenty Flawless Oak Branches had been handed over to the quest giver, who had been in the form of a grizzled mountain man. He had lived upon the tallest hill of the first floors, which was not exceptionally high, perhaps 100 meters at the highest point.

The beaten track we had followed to reach the house had been littered with decomposing leaves and dried mud. It had been a pleasant hour walk to reach the house, with clouds lazily passing above us, providing temporary cover from the blistering heat of the sun. Colourful jaybirds happily chattered around us, taking cover from the heat in the sparse forest that surrounded the bush path.

We had observed the occasional wild animal, but they were just as keen to avoid us as we were to avoid them. Perhaps in the moonlight it might have been a different story, but in the daylight, they were as timid around humans as real animals were.

Martin warned me of the powerful bear that occupied the forest. It had been the first part of his quest, he had explained, in which he was asked by the shield maker on the top of the hill to save his grand daughter from the "Giant Brown Bear". Martin had located several bears, but none of them had the grand daughter with them. It had quickly become apparent to Martin that he would have to track a bear to its lair in order to save the grand daughter, and he had taken the "Tracking" skill.

Martin had explained the experience to me in worried tones, the "Giant Brown Bear" that occupied the lair had been fearsome, and Martin had barely escaped with his life. He had been unable to kill the bear, but had instead distracted it long enough due to Martin's ridiculous defence stats to allow the little girl to escape the lair.

The grizzled old grand father had been ecstatic to see the little girl again, and had promised Martin that he would make him a shield worthy of legionnaires if he retrieved the materials for him. The materials had involved the twenty Flawless Oak Branches, and when we had returned to the old man, he had happily crafted the shield for Martin, while the little girl bombarded us with sweet cakes that tasted absolutely delicious, but resulted in a raging thirst.

Because I could see the little girl in the house, and the old man would not offer me a quest to save his grand daughter, I realized that this was a one-off quest, and that the shield that Martin had acquired would not only be incredibly powerful, probably the best shield anyone could obtain on the first floor, it was also one of a kind. What a rare item Martin had in his possession.

Despite being in a party with Martin, only Martin had gained experience for the quest, as it was a solo quest, not a party quest. The EXP he had received had vaulted him up two levels simultaneously! He was now level six, meaning he was stronger than me. The Spaniard had felt guilty however, and had offered me his old shield, telling me I could keep it, sell it, or bash him over the head with it, whatever I preferred.

I decided to restrain myself from the more violent option, and instead thanked him for the shield. I was not disappointed or felt that I had wasted my time by partying with Martin over the past two days. Through our teamwork we had both gained an exceptional amount of experience and col. I still couldn't consider Martin my friend, but I was definitely closer to him than I was to anyone else in this death game.

Except for Rhythm and Becka, but I wasn't allowed to see them anymore.

I had not received any messages from either of them over the past five days, and although I was not worried about them, as I trusted Rhythm with my life, I was curious as to how they were doing. I hoped Becka wasn't struggling over Daniel's death still. God knows his death still haunts me, and I didn't wish that burden on anyone else. It was my guilt, and mine alone to carry.

"I guess this is where we part amigo." We were standing at a crossroads. One path was directed towards "Starting City", which was a hazy blur in the horizon. With a higher perception skill I assumed I would one day be able to see the city clearly from a distance of one kilometre away.

"I guess it is, Spaniard." There were two other paths, one of them lead to the town of Aricana, and the other still held an unknown destination. As I would need to find stronger enemies to train against, I would be taking the unknown path. Martin on the other hand would be returning to the "Starting City", in order to meet up with some friends of his.

"Thanks for everything amigo, I couldn't have done this without you. I just wish I could pay you back somehow, other than with that cheap shield."

"Hey, this is my shield now, call it cheap again and I'll bash you over the head with it."

He grinned. "If that's what you say amigo, I don't doubt you." He hesitated before continuing. "You sure you'll be alright by yourself?" He had been awoken last night to my screams as the nightmares had dominated my sleep. I had brushed off any concern he had for me. This was my responsibility to carry; I wasn't allowed the comfort of being able to share my sins.

"I'll be fine, you damn Spaniard, just get out of here"

"If that is your wish amigo," and with a fancy flourish of his hand, and a colourful laugh, he began to walk away. A sudden thought struck me. Perhaps there was a way he could help me.

"Hey Martin"

"Si?"

I sent him a friend request, while continuing the conversation. "In three days I'm venturing on a particular quest, which I know next to nothing about. It would be great to have some back up, if you didn't mind."

He grinned, a glint in his eye, as he accepted the friend request. Curly black ringlets of hair brushed past his face as the wind gusted past us.

"It would be my honour, amigo"

I didn't bother to correct him about the name. I was just relieved I had a partner I could rely upon for my upcoming quest.

* * *

I ran through the gates of starting city two days later trying to find cover before the inevitable storm struck. The sunny weather that had dominated the game had quickly taken a turn for the worse today. When I had woken from an uncomfortable sleep, having been interrupted by nightmares yet again, dark gloomy clouds had hung above, drowning out all sunlight, and casting a miserable gloom across the usually vivid plain lands.

I had initially ignored the weather and had gone out hunting "Grizzled Wolves", trying to increase my level once more before I would begin Chris's quest. Although I had discovered two more towns, I had yet to discover any enemies stronger then these wolves, which were at level three, one level stronger than regular wolves. I had not wanted to go and fight the "Living Tree Oaks" without a partner, as they were difficult enemies to fight without a tank like Martin.

So I had focused my attention on the "Grizzled Wolves", and had ever so slowly gained a single level over the course of two days. Preferring to be at least one level stronger, I had gone out preparing to fight from sunup to sundown, but the weather had other plans. By midday, thunder and lightning could be heard, and it was throwing the wolves into panic and rage, causing their attacking patterns to become erratic and dangerous.

Listening to the words of advice that flowed out of the part of my brain that was usually ignored, I had given up, and decided to retreat to the "Starting City", a two-hour distance away. The whole time I had been chased by the storm, as if it was targeting me, and the two short breaks I had taken to restore my stamina had resulted in me being drenched with rain.

I had to admit that the SAO system did an incredible job impersonating wet clothes. Even the mud was unfortunately realistic, squelching under my boots with each step and caking them with mud, which I was certain would be impossible to clean off once dry.

Starting City was unnaturally empty, the storm scaring off all of the players and NPC's indoors, and those players that couldn't afford to stay indoors were miserably huddled inside restaurants and shops.

"A cloak, that's what I need!" I said talking to myself as the idea struck me. "A really awesome looking cloak… hmm what colour, and should it have a design…" The seeping feeling in my shoulders reminded me that the storm had caught up with me, and I burst into the nearest building, hoping it wasn't too crowded.

* * *

Several hours later, dusk was falling, it was still storming, and I was still stuck in the small restaurant that was over-populated by players. I was definitely the object of interest within the shop, as it appeared none of the individuals had even left "Starting City" yet, choosing to live in the safety of the stonewalls. When you compared the rags and thin, meek Beginner's Blade's of the players to my meter and a half broadsword, and my mismatched leather armour and comfortable clothes, I was definitely the freak in the gathering.

To make things worse, my 6'4 height was naturally intimidating, with the next tallest male being just 6 foot, while some of the smallest players came below my shoulders. I was getting claustrophobic from being in the small room with so many players and from the unwanted attention I had gathered, so deciding that I would rather face the storm than the stares, I pushed the wooden doors of the restaurant open, allowing strong gusts of wind to whip through the restaurant. Several players shrieked in shock, while others glared angrily at me, as if I had purposefully let the wind in.

Not knowing where to go, I stomped off in a random direction, the rain pouring down relentless and unforgiving. I ended up walking into the large, open, and currently deserted Central Plaza, the place where everything had begun. I noticed that it wasn't identical to the last time I had seen it. There was a large stone in the middle, with a large black, metal plaque covering the surface.

I walked up to it, curious as to who had placed it here, and what it was. The colour left my face when I realized. It was a grave.

The bodies weren't actually buried here, as when a player died, all the data that composed there body would be shattered and destroyed. Instead, names covered the surface of the black rock. There were hundreds of names, a thousand probably. I walked closer, the rain pounding on my back, so I could read what was said beside the names.

The plaque had a brief description of how each player had died. My insides curled up as I read some of them. "Death by falling, death by boars, death by own blade, death by drowning…" I read each one out loud, as if it would reverse the actions that had taken the lives of players. But of course, it didn't.

I looked around the grave, and noticed that it was littered with flowers. The rain was washing most of them away, but a few vigilantly remained, refusing to abandon their post. I began to worry, wondering if Becka was still alive, or if she'd killed herself, like so many of these deaths suggested. The pouring rain made it difficult read the indented letters, but I convinced myself after several minutes of searching that she was not dead, and indeed alive.

I could also confirm that she was alive by checking her status on my friends list anyway. I had not been thinking properly due to my burst of panic.

I began a more sombre examination for Daniel's name. When I could not find it in the D section, I felt a brief respite of joy. He was still alive.

But a flash of lighting crushed that thought as I remembered his avatar name. "Cig Bock, a joker to the end, huh Daniel?" I muttered mournfully. And indeed I found his avatars name.

-Cig Bock, died August, 1st, 2022: Killed in a duel by Sirius-

Well, I guess the whole world could know now. They just had to search enough and they'd discover my darkest secret, that I'd killed one of my best friends. I held my face up to the dark, foreboding sky. Rain ran down my face, stinging my eyes, but resting pleasantly on my lips. I spoke to the heavens, as if they would bind me to my promise.

"Don't worry Daniel, I promise I'll get Becka out of this game. Not just Becka, I'll save everyone if I have to. I will beat this game. I will become the flicker of hope in this desolate game, and lead everyone to victory. I may not survive, but I will win"

"I will become Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky."

* * *

The rain tore at my skin, causing me to gasp in pain. I realized that it wasn't rain, but sharpened shrapnel's of metal raining down upon me. I whimpered as I tried to stand up, but found myself in a surging sea. I struggled to stay afloat, but something wrapped around my neck was weighing me down, dragging me into the depths.

They were arms. Cold, clammy, lifeless arms, intertwined around my neck. I tried to tear them off, but as soon as I tried, I began sinking into the depths of the pitch-black ocean. There was no moon in the sky, no stars either, it was pure darkness except for the pale glow the arms seemed to release.

A lantern flickered in the distance, and I screamed as loud as I could, desperate for help. The dead body on my back was weighing me down, dragging me under, and I desperately needed aid. The small rowing boat floated closer to me, unaffected by the surging waves of the ocean, and a hooded figure reached out a hand to help me.

When I grabbed the hand, a searing sensation was felt through my stomach, and as I looked at the hooded figure, I saw sullen, honey brown eyes flashing violently. Wisps of brown hair flayed out in the wind, and Becka glared at me unblinkingly, her mouth open in a smile. She pulled a blade out of my stomach, and laughing queerly, licked the blood off the surface.

I screamed, understanding flooding through me. I screamed louder and louder, hoping another boat would pass by, but it didn't. Instead, a low chuckling begun by my right ear. Floundering in the water, I struggled to see who it was, but I knew it could only be one person, Daniel. His slimy hands strangled my throat, cutting into my windpipe, and I lost all ability to scream or breathe. While I struggled against Daniel's attempts to drown me, Becka plunged her sword into me again and again.

The blood never stopped, it kept rushing out of me. The ocean was no longer pitch black, but sickly viscous red. The sky was lit up in blood, and I could see Becka's tear stained face, frozen in a mask of chaos. I gave up, as always, eventually happened. Daniel began screaming in ecstasy as I let him drag my body below the viscous red sea, and I begun to drown in my own blood.

No matter how hard I fought, I would always, eventually, give up.

* * *

**And a nightmare to end it all, how pretty.**

**Hopefully people aren't getting to annoyed at my slow pace. 9 chapters and we're still on the first floor! At this rate the stories going to be 1000 chapters.**

**But it won't be, I'm sure we can all agree on that. And lets face it, who in this world would want to read a 1000 chapter book.  
**

**...Actually I can think of a few english teachers.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	10. Red

My raging headache reminded me of a hangover I had experienced in the real world once upon a time. A house party I had visited with Matthew, Rebecca and Daniel. I had drunk far too much liquor, and had missed the first half of school the next day. I wondered if alcohol existed in SAO, and if it did, where I could find it.

I quickly came to the conclusion that the life of an alcoholic was not for me, and I abandoned that idea, deciding to search for a reasonable breakfast instead. I found a small café that had what looked like comfortable armchairs, and I gratefully collapsed in one, savouring the feeling of being supported by the soft pillow-like entity. My lack of sleep each night was gaining on me, and my exhaustion was overwhelming. If only nightmares took days off… or nights off, as I guess it's more like a night job, kind of like a security guard.

I quickly stopped trying to describe my nightmares as a sentient beings, god knows I have enough problems as it is.

A beautiful, blond NPC waitress arrived at my table, and I gave her my order, a large fruit juice and scrambled eggs. The food arrived quickly at my table and the aroma it produced notified me that this food must be of the highest quality one could find in "Starting City". Most food here consisted of stale bread and stale water. I relished the feeling of the fluffy eggs in my mouth, determined to savour the delicious food, but within minutes both the juice and the eggs were gone. I compromised myself by relaxed back into the stuffed armchair, and thought about the upcoming day.

Chris's quest was today, and I still had to buy some essential supplies. Most importantly, I was rather low on health potions, but I was considering buying a new sword, or at the very least, repairing my current broadsword. It would be shame to part with my blade. It was my trusted partner, and had served me well this past week, but I had purchased the blade when I was level one, and I was now level six.

I examined my stats:

Strength: 11

Agility: 10

Dexterity: 5

Perception: 7

Vitality: 7

Although my stats had not changed much over the past few days, my skills had increased dramatically. My "Two Handed Sword Skill" was at level 53, "Acrobatics" was at 44, and "Spotting" was at 39. I had yet to gain another skill slot, which although disappointing, was to be expected. I was only level six after all.

I looked at the time on my menu. 8:36, Time to get prepared. I left the restaurant, having already paid for my meal, and left to visit the markets. Realizing that I had not designated a meeting time for the temporary party that was to be forming today, I sent out a short message to Dark Blade, Martin and Chris.

-Meet in the market as soon as you are ready-

I strolled through the incredibly large market district. It was far larger than the market in Aricana had been. I strolled by shops I had seen before, but noticed an important difference. Last time I had been here, players had surrounded the shops, drooling over weapons and armour, however, only a handful of players, including me, had bought a single item.

As I now wandered down the wide alley, I noticed that players were buying weapons and potions from NPC's all over the place. More importantly, a few players appeared to have started their own business in a few places. I saw a group of three girls giggling as they tailored some clothes while a large crowd of male players watched them eagerly. It appeared that females had become a rare species in this world, and attracted vast amounts of attention. Even more attention than I garnered with my large blade and prevailing height, which was saying something.

I entered the weapons shop in which I had purchased my broadsword one week ago, and begun browsing the selection, impatient to buy a sharper blade. I looked over the weapons, and tested a few. There was a claymore, similar to the one I had seen in Aricana, but my strength requirement was still low. Just how damn strong did one have to be to carry those things?

I found some expensive looking two-handed blades, but as I swung them around a bit in the shop, to the bemusement of some of the other players, they all felt very foreign to me. One of the swords I actually dropped. It had slipped through my fingers when I had attempted a simple flourish that I could have pulled off easily with my current broadsword.

I presumed that if I were to buy a new sword, it would take me several hours to grow accustomed to it, and for that reason, I hesitated to buy a new weapon today. I was going to be adventuring today in what would likely be the most dangerous journey I had yet been on. I wanted to be in my top form, and if I accidently dropped my blade in the middle of a fight, it could mean instant death for me. Especially when one considered how lightly armoured I fought.

I depressingly handed over a substantial amount of col and repaired my broadsword instead. Repairing weapons cost a large amount of money, particularly when compared to how much the blade was worth in the first place. I had spent more col repairing my broadsword over the past week then I had originally paid for it.

But it had served me well, so I couldn't complain. Before I left, I replaced my leather vambraces with new ones that were studded with steel. I was still nervous about my arms being cut off again, especially when I was around Dark Blade.

As I left the shop, I heard a loud shouting pierce the monotone chattering of the crowd.

"Sirius, Sirius."

Although unable to pinpoint the owner of the voice, I could determine its direction, and I followed it, squeezing my way through the crowd. I pushed by the last person, and was greeted with a sparsely populated section of the market. The stores here were less interesting to players than the weapon and potion shops, and thus crowds were almost always nonexistent here.

I spotted Chris standing on a bench, his black hair spiky and unkempt, his brown eyes shining in excitement. As I got closer to the bench, he launched himself off, and I caught him with an "oomph". I swung him upside down, holding him by his feet, causing him to giggle, before putting him down the right way up.

"How've you been little guy?"

"I haven't done anything stupid, if that's what you're asking," I laughed at this, and Chris continued speaking. "But look who I managed to track down," he said gleefully.

Chris pointed behind him, and I groaned as I saw a ginger girl who was appraising me. Her glare was only half as poisonous then the last time I had seen her. She still looked furious at me, but she also seemed a bit confused. Perhaps she was going to apologize to me, I thought smugly.

"I found her yesterday, and I told her I wouldn't stop annoying her unless she came with me today to meet and apologize to you." I cringed when I realized that Chris had employed the same tactic that the young boys in Aricana had used on Martin and I. No wonder this red headed girl had given in.

"Ehh, Sorry about him," I said to the red head, scratching my head. "I should probably put him on a leash or something," to which I received a punch from Chris.

"No, it's fine" She replied, rather stiffly, as if she really did not want to be in this situation. "I wanted to see you too, make sure you weren't trying to kill anyone else."

I growled. This bitch had never been going to apologize to me in the first place, she had just wanted to berate me more.

"Hey sis, you promised you'd apologize," whined Chris.

She gave me a hard look, before sighing, and reaching out a hand. "I apologize for interrupting a duel. Chris told me the back story, and I know it wasn't your fault."

The apology surprised me, I truly hadn't expected it, She really wasn't a bad person, I thought to myself, and so I reached over and grasped her outstretched hand in mine, shaking it. I discovered, in shock, how frail her hand was, and how weak her grip was. As I examined her arms, I noticed they were incredibly thin too, unhealthily so. In fact, although she was of a decent height, her whole body seemed incredibly weak, as if she would shatter into pieces if she were dropped on the ground.

I hated to imagine what must have happened to her in the real world.

But it was taboo to talk about the real world in SAO, and it was taboo in the real world to talk about people's illnesses, so asking her about that would've been double taboo. Whatever that meant.

"Apology accepted, girl."

Her green eyes flashed violently, and I quickly tried to recoil my hand from her grip, sensing danger. I could not escape from her grasp however, it was if she were stronger then me despite her frail body. As I felt myself being lifted off the air, and my back being slammed into the ground I remembered that the only parameters that controlled strength in SAO were one's strength stat. As I wheezed, trying to recollect the artificial oxygen in artificial lungs, which probably didn't even need oxygen at all, I pondered what level this girl must have been, to have been able to completely overpower me, despite me concentrating most of my stat points on strength.

"I am a woman, not a girl, and you will remember that," she said in a level tone, but the malice in her green eyes was unmistakable. Common sense should have taken over at this point, but unfortunately, the side of me that had loved to argue with Daniel, and loved to tease Becka could not be restrained.

"Well, maybe you should start acting like one."

I felt the sharp point of a blade resting upon my adam's apple. I swallowed, and the blade would have dug in, if it hadn't been for the cities safety parameters.

"What did you say?"

Although now would've been an excellent time to retreat, and simply apologize, my brain seemed to have a mind of its own.

"Maybe I didn't make myself understood, but generally, women don't physically assault men like a crazed barbarian."

She began to beat me with her dagger, which despite lacking cutting power due to the safety parameters, hurt like hell. The harassment option appeared on my screen, but I refused to press it, decided to save myself at least some dignity.

"I wish you two would just get along," said a sullen Chris. "You're fighting like my brothers."

The red haired girl glared at Chris, angry at being labelled as a man, but she didn't do anything else. She didn't dare hit a child.

"Hehe, good one Chris," I said, earning myself another kick in the gut.

There was the sound of laughter from around us, and I suddenly noticed the crowd we had gathered. I sighed; I always seemed to be able to create spectacles like this. The red head on the other hand appeared incredibly embarrassed that she'd been seen acting in such unwomanly grace.

"Serves her right," I muttered while standing up. She unfortunately heard that however, and her head whipped around to glare at me. I braced myself for another impact, but it never came.

She instead had her dagger out again, pointing it at my throat while she whispered venomously. "I forgive you for fighting before, but if I ever discover the opportunity to beat you into submission, I gleefully will, understand."

"I never knew you were into those kind of things," I said, smirking.

Her face went blank, my comment taking her completely off guard, and in that moment, she was beautiful. Her face showed the same sign of sickness that the rest of body did, but her vivid red hair, and her soul searching green eyes were so full of life, so… alive.

But just as quickly as she had let herself loose, her face tightened back up again, and she was storming away, clearly not happy with my comment. Before she managed to escape I shouted out to her, catching her attention.

"Wait! What's your name? Your avatar name!"

She paused, standing still before turning and replying. "And why should I tell you that, asshole?"

I smiled widely. "Because it's unfair that you already know mine."

Although this response simply aggravated her even more, she seemed to concede to my point. She turned around, and walked away, her vivid long red hair blowing in the wind, as she replied.

"Red"

"Oh, how very original," I said to myself, under my breath. I guess I was fortunate that she hadn't heard that comment.

* * *

"So, is this all of us?" asked Dark Blade. We were sitting in a small café, sipping on a cold drink that faintly reminded me of stale coca cola. At least it was ice cold, the kind of refreshment that was greatly relished on a hot summer day, and hot summer day it was. The storm that had plagued the city yesterday was all but forgotten and the sun was back at full strength. The only reminders of the rain were small puddles that littered some of the side alleys.

Dark Blade was sitting opposite from me on the rectangular table. Chris was sharing my seat with me, eagerly eyeing my drink, as he had already finished his. Jarvis was to my left, sipping a drink he had purchased himself. The drink I had bought him was left on the table untouched. I guess he trusted me as much as I trusted him. Martin was to my right, eyeing Jarvis carefully, while pretending to be absorbed in the strange cold beverage in front of him. I guess he trusted Jarvis as much as I did.

"Yeah, this is it" I replied to Dark Blade. "Is it a problem? Do we need more people?"

Dark Blade sighed, thinking critically. "What level are you three?"

"Level six" I said.

Martin hesitated, not wishing to partake that information to strangers. He glanced at me, and I just shrugged.

"Level five," said Martin, lowering his level by one, deciding to not completely trust in my selection of companions. Fair enough, I didn't trust them fully either.

Dark Blade looked at Chris. "Level one," Chris said, oblivious to Dark Blade's cringing face.

"So basically we have four fighters, and one of them will have to be on body guard duty the whole time. That leaves us with three fighters."

"Hey, return the favour, what levels are you two amigos?"

They both paused, but Dark Blade gave in quickly, "Level seven." So he was the strongest player in our midst, except for perhaps-

"I'm not telling," said Jarvis, which cost him a knock on the head from Dark Blade. He still refused to partake that information, simply stating that he was "strong enough". Martin was growing angry and agitated, and seemed to be having second thoughts about the quest. Chris seemed to be the only one unaffected, but that was probably because he was busy filching the drink I had purchased for Jarvis.

"Alright, that's enough" I said while standing trying to defuse the situation. "Dark Blade, can you tell us about what we'll be experiencing during this quest."

He nodded, wiping his long blond hair out his eyes. He tapped the table with a spoon for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts.

"There is an abandoned house in "Starting City", in which the only way in is though a locked door. The key he has will let us in." He gestured to Chris, who beamed, happy to be involved.

"We enter the house on the ground floor, but there is a secret passage that leads down. There are five floors, each are relatively small, but still function like a regular dungeon, except enemies don't respawn. The enemies progressively get stronger, with the fifth floor containing the boss. He's a level nine skeleton monster, his level isn't the main problem though. The main problem is that he isn't alone, he has two weaker level seven guards."

I hummed a tune under my breath, while I picked up a spoon, and copied Dark Blade's earlier action of tapping it on the table. "Do you two fight well together?" I said, gesturing at Dark Blade and Jarvis. They glanced at each other before responding.

"Not really, we're both solo fighters, we only party together so that we have an assurance against death," Dark Blade said. Jarvis refused to say anything, his mouth curled up in silence, but he nodded in affirmation nonetheless.

"Alright then, our basic plan for the fifth floor will be for you two to each target a weaker skeleton, while The Spaniard and I tackle the boss."

"The Spaniard?" asked Dark Blade.

"That's my name for Martin"

"Si, my amigo gives me funny names."

"Amigo?"

"Si, as in friend, you comprendo amigo?"

"Stop calling people amigo!" I shook my head. "We don't have the time for this, it's already 11. How long does the dungeon take to clear?" I asked Dark Blade

"About two hours." He replied.

"See, we do have time for this amigo."

"Shut up Spaniard."

* * *

**Ten chapter mark, woohoo!**

**Thanks for the support anyone has given me so far, and a bigger thanks to anyone who reviewed (Shukokage, Blinded in a Bolthole, and Arsenal for the most recent reviews). Just the knowledge that someone took the time to read my work gives me enough motivation to keep going. And at the rate that I've been**** tearing these chapters, motivation definitely helps.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	11. The Undead

Daniel's arms were swinging limply by his waist as he stumbled towards me. His skin complexion was pale, and open wounds covered his body, yet no blood flowed out. Dirt crumbled off his shoulder as he staggered over a stone, and his whole body jerked, struggled to stay upright. He froze suddenly, and then his head snapped up, bright yellow eyes glaring at me.

With a loud moan Daniel launched himself at me, his feet shuffling his body at a faster rate than one would expect. His arms swayed back and forth, gaining momentum. I had frozen, my sword hanging limply from one hand, my strength stat not great enough to be able to wield this blade with one hand. I was panicking, but felt the urge to give up, just like I had in all of my nightmares.

Daniel's body twisted to the right, his limp arm swinging around accompanied by a series of cracking as his bone snapped. All of a sudden he was twisting the other way, his loose arm whipping out at an incredible rate, aided by his momentum. His rotten fingers were outstretched like claws, ready to tear through my skin. I waited for the nightmare to end.

A curved blade split Daniel's arm in half, and as he begun to scream in confusion, the curved blade was already falling upon him again. Dark Blade executed three incredibly quick downward slashes, and the "Zombie" was decapitated, and promptly erased by the system in its quaint, colourful way.

"You alright Sirius?" Dark Blade asked, concerned about my sudden panic attack.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, let's keep moving"

My nightmares were plaguing me even while I was awake. Perhaps it was the darkness of the dungeon, the sickly shadows that the faint torchlight cast upon the depressing scene. Water trickled from a corner of the room, causing a constant dripping sound to echo throughout. The walls were covered in either dark green moss, or pale limestone that seemed to creep out of the roof.

Not only was the setting dismal, but the monsters were horrible. It was my first time fighting humanoid creatures, even if they were undead. The humanoid like figure had awoken my nightmares, and I had foolishly panicked and frozen. As I ran up and proceeded to hack at another "Zombie", I discovered that they didn't actually look anything like a person, let alone Daniel. Their figures were too deformed, with too many body parts missing.

My party, which consisted of Chris, Martin, Dark Blade and Jarvis, were currently on the fourth floor, undertaking the quest "Some things are better left buried." When Chris had used the key on the front door of the small, abandoned house, everyone in the party had received the quest notification.

Dark Blade pointed out the secret passage that was underneath the bed, saving our group precious time searching for it. Having beta players helping you really was incredible.

The first floor had consisted of "Giant Rats", a level one monster. We had let Chris have some fun with his new sword and shield, as a level one enemy were hardly a threat. He was a fast learner, and after a few minutes, he was gleefully running around the dungeon slashing at the rats with sword skills. Some of the rats appeared to actually be running away from him after he had killed half a dozen of them.

Chris gained a level on the second floor, which consisted of level two wolves, simply by being in our party and receiving the shared experience. We had stopped him from fighting, as level two monsters were testing the limits of a player just introduced to combat. Martin had taken an instant liking to the kid, and had volunteered to be his bodyguard for the quest. The Spaniard stood tall and proud in his heavy armour, and his large, curved oak shield he had received from a quest, enjoying the looks of awe he was receiving from Chris.

Meanwhile, Dark Blade, Jarvis and I hacked our way through the wolves nonchalantly. Being 5 levels above meant that the fights were decided in one sword skill, or two regular slashes. Although I had yet to tell anyone, I had unlocked a new sword skill. For some reason I had decided to keep it secret, my personal "Ace in the hole".

We followed the same plan on the third floor, which consisted of the slightly stronger "Dire Wolves". It wasn't until the fourth floor, the floor containing the zombies, that we started to take the fights seriously. After I had snapped out of my nightmare, I put on a determined face, and began hacking my way through the remaining "Zombies." At level 5, they could catch the unwary or overconfident off guard, and I was worried about what sort of debuff's would be applied when one of their attacks hit.

My agile battling style allowed me to dodge every attack, and after several more minutes, our party had cleared the fourth floor. The staircase to the lower floor was fortunately less then a hundred meters away from the previous staircase. It had taken us the good part of two hours to navigate through the maze like dungeon that the floors above us had consisted of. It was a relief to be given a break from wandering around aimlessly.

My party gathered around the staircase. Everyone, except me who was unscathed, took a health potion to restore their health. We could have just waited for the natural healing to heal us, but that would've taken about an hour or so, and none of us wanted to wait that long.

"Alright everyone, remember the plan?" I asked.

"Don't worry amigo, I've got your back" Martin said.

Dark Blade and Jarvis both nodded, they knew what to do.

"Now Chris, don't attempt to fight anyone, we'll take care of that. You just stay back, and when everything's dead, you can go and grab the treasure." I said to the eager, spiky haired boy. His head bobbled up and down, and I was worried he might cause himself physical damage if it went any faster. Dark Blade and Jarvis both wore unamused expressions however, I guess both of them still really wanted the treasure.

With the final floor so close it was too late to doubt their intentions, so I simply took a deep breath, and began walked down the wooden staircase. It creaked with every step, and halfway down something loud cracked inside of it. Probably the main support pillar, I thought grimly.

I descended the final step and felt my feet on reliable, solid stone. A pungent odour of decay reached me, making me gag. It was dismally dark, and I was unable to see more than a meter in front of me. I felt players bumping into my back as they descended the staircase. I stumbled forward after a particularly heavy player hit me, Martin I presumed, and stepped on something that fell partially with a click. Shit, I thought, that had felt like a giant button.

In correspondence with my thoughts, torches began flickering into existence around the room. A particularly close torch singed Jarvis, who jumped back with a yelp.

In front of us were three coffins; the middle one was made of a grandeur wood, encased with delicate jewels that glimmered red in the torchlight, the graves on either side were constructed of rotting, decayed wood. With a loud crack, the top of the decorated grave snapped open. The lid slid to the side smoothly, hissing as dust rose around it, before collapsing on the stone floor with a loud bang, causing a ricochet of echoes to assault my ears.

Popping and squeaking were heard as a pearly white hand, shed of all skin leaving only bone, was lifted up, and grasped the edge of the coffin. With a progression of cracks, clicking, and scratching, the skeleton managed to stand up. It stepped out of its coffin, dragging a short steel sword out with it. The sword was rusted orange, decayed to the point that it had begun crumbling, yet its corrupted edges glistened in sharpness, a dangerous weapon indeed.

Information was rapidly displayed in front of me, labelling this undead creature as the "The Forgotten Solider". More information announced that it was at level nine. I swore, Dark Blade and Jarvis had been right. Not that I hadn't trusted them, I had just hoped it wouldn't have been so ridiculously high levelled. It was three levels above both Martin and I.

Instead of feeling scared though, excitement began pumping through me. I hadn't had a proper fight in a long time. Farming animals for experience had quickly lost its initial excitement, and had become more of a daily routine. What could be more entertaining then fighting a monster that could easily result in my death if I slipped up and made a mistake?

Two more deafening cracks signified the awakening of the two lesser skeletons, and I saw Dark Blade and Jarvis rush to their respective opponents. I glanced at Martin who was looking rather nervous, but with a hint of excitement in his maroon eyes, just like I must have had.

"We must be crazy amigo."

"I already told you," I begun running at "The Forgotten Solider". "Don't call me amigo."

My hands gripped the worn leather that was wrapped around the hilt of my broadsword, and I raised the weapon above my right shoulder, preparing my sword skill. My blade begun to glow pure white, greatly contrasting with the flickering light of the torches. As I planted my right foot firmly on the ground, my blade was pushed down, and my arm muscles contracted and expanded, forcing the sword down both faster and stronger.

The skeleton raised his short sword, easily defending against my sword skill. He was not pushed back an inch by my attack, which meant his strength stat was probably greater than mine. I had discovered from the beta players that the bonus effects of sword skills, such as my Vertical Crush's stun effect, would only apply during battle if my strength stat was higher than my opponents.

That meant the skeleton would not be vulnerable to the keystone attack in my arsenal. Worse, I noticed that the skeleton had blocked my attack perfectly, negating all damage it received, leaving it with a full health bar. Our blades were locked, and the skeleton applied more pressure to his, enabling it to throw me back a meter. I tried to gain my bearings, but by the time I had the skeleton was too close for me to react. Its blade was already sinking through the air.

A steel wall blocked my vision, and the Spaniard blocked the attack with his incredible shield. Although Martin was pushed back an inch by the skeletons overwhelming strength, he had been able to negate all damage.

"Acting a little cocky, aren't you amigo."

"Perhaps," I said grinning.

The skeleton began a barrage of attacks upon Martin, who had to concentrate to block them effectively. It seemed that the skeleton did not know any sword skills, it just whacked at Martin with its sword, which was a relief, as it was already strong enough as it is.

When the skeleton paused in it's barrage of attacks, it's short sword leaning on Martin's shield, Martin gave a loud battle cry, and bashed the skeletons sword to the side.

"Now," Martin cried. I was already moving, eager to take advantage of the temporarily defenceless skeleton. I charged in, my sword low at my waist, and I swung it horizontally letting the broadsword crash into the skeletons waist. A rib bone shattered, and I grinned in violent satisfaction as I quickly withdrew my sword, swung it over my shoulder, and activated my sword skill for the second time.

I screamed as Vertical Crush landed cleanly on the skeletons chest, shattering two more of its ribs. The skeleton screamed an unearthly sound, made even more horrific by its lack of vocal chords, and retaliated with its own short sword. As its blade swung at me, I rolled with it, being aided by my acrobatics training, and the sword passed over me. The momentum of my roll pushed me back onto my feet and I slashed upwards with my broadsword, crushing the its left skeletal wrist. It was unfortunately the arm that didn't hold a sword, but it was still progress.

The skeletons sword came back, this time too low for me to roll under. I instead jumped straight up, pretending it was a game of skip rope. A rather morbid game of skip rope, but a game nonetheless. The skeleton was moving with surprising speed, it's short sword already swinging downward from above its head while I was still in midair. I kicked out with my feet, feeling contact between my boots and its skeletal chest, and rocketed myself backwards out of reach. I fell on my ass, trying to roll myself back up onto two feet, but the skeleton was faster.

But Martin was faster still, suddenly in front of me, his obnoxiously large shield slamming the incoming blade out of the way. I waited for Martin to wear out the skeletons chain of attacks. As I waited for my sword skill to recharge, I examined the skeletons health bar.

"It's lost 20% of its health," I said

"This is gonna take a while amigo… switch!"

And I jumped in, proceeding to attack in my acrobatic fashion, with my few, but devastating strikes. My way of fighting was tempting death dearly. All I had to rely upon were my instincts and reflexes. If even one clean hit from the skeletons sword landed on me, I would most likely die. If it were not for Martin's incredible shield, I was certain we would be in a dangerous position right now.

As it was, we were in a rather favourable position. After four more of my barbaric barrages, the skeleton's health had been lowered to 30%. Martin had begun to grow more confident in creating opportunities for me to exploit, and as he felt the skeletons short sword hit his shield, he blew his shield arm out, attempting to disarm the frightening boss.

But the short sword had not been there. The skeleton had withdrawn it's blade at an incredible speed, and with what I could've sworn was a grin on it's unchanging, empty skull of a face, it slashed down on Martin, not once, but five times in rapid succession before Martin was able to bring his shield back up. Martin's health was in the flashing red, so I immediately called him back.

"Drink a potion, let me deal with this," I shouted.

But how had the "The Forgotten Solder" done that? It was as if it had predicted the attack, had known it was coming, and concocted a tactic in response. But that was impossible; I had yet to face an enemy that learned in battle.

Then it hit me. I had yet to face an enemy in battle who had lived long enough to learn anything. All of the boars, trees, wolves and zombies I had fought before had been disposed of in less then a minute. This was my first fight against a single opponent that had lasted longer than one minute. Christ, it had lasted about five minutes, it could've learned a lot.

The skeleton glared at me, and I felt like it was appraising me. Just how much had this skeleton learned? I rushed at it, activating my sword skill Vertical Crush, but the skeletons sword was already above its head in position to defend. As I swung my body around in a movement I had used against the boss before and attempted a horizontal cut on its undefended right flank, my sword unexpectedly found no resistance, and simply divided the air.

The skeleton had moved to its left, causing my slash to miss completely.

The skeleton had learned a lot.

I rolled backwards, narrowly avoiding the downward slash that was aimed at me. I didn't have time like I usually did to stand back up, as the skeleton was already charging at me. As it stabbed at me with the point of its sword, I spun on my right foot, only partially avoiding the attack. I jumped backwards as far as the systems limitations would let me, and examined the wounded patch on my left forearm. Fortunately my vambraces had protected me slightly, but I was still worried when I looked at my health bar that was only 40% full.

"More than half my health in one hit…" I muttered, and it hadn't even been a clean hit. I grinned, I had never been this close to death before. It was such an exhilarating feeling. My mind was high on adrenaline and blood pumping throughout my limbs. I had never felt better.

But I wasn't going to let it beat me. I only gave up in my nightmares. In real life I never lost. I judged the distance between the skeleton and I, and jumped back once again. There was about an eight-meter gap between us. Perfect, it was time to try out something new.

When I had reached level 50 in both "Two Handed Sword Skill" and "Acrobatics", I had unlocked a new sword skill. I had not yet perfect it, and was unable to use it whenever I wanted. For me to use it there had to be a specific distance between the target and I. That distance was eight meters.

As the skeleton began lurching towards me, I lowered my broadsword so it was angled towards the ground. A sense of calm washed over me, and a phrase that had helped me in so many previous battles rushed to my head.

_Disregard all sentiments of defence._

Ghost Rush

* * *

**Woo, a new sword skill! What a slow pace huh? Kirito would be crying in agony if this were his story.**

**A big thanks to Catsy for your critical review. The few things you pointed out prove that you are a loyal SAO fan, so kudos to you!**

**And thanks to all those other readers following along, I'm glad that some people out there are enjoying these OC's.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	12. Ghost Rush

I held my broadsword in both hands with the blade angled horizontally behind me and faced the "Forgotten Solider", who was stumbling forwards, skeletal feet dragging along the ground that made screeching noises not unlike that of nails on a blackboard. I could see Martin in my peripherals, his health bar flashing red, a sign that his health was below 10%. If this attack didn't work, I would probably lose the battle, which would mean Martin would also probably die.

I didn't have the luxury to lose. I took a deep breath, and calmed my insides, emptying my mind of all thoughts but one.

_Disregard all sentiments of defence._

With each foot below each shoulder level I began to lean forward in the direction of the skeleton. I continued leaning forward, until I began the fall of no return. The ground seemed to rush up to meet my face, and I struggled not to blink.

As I continued to fall, I bent my knees, with my toes still touching the ground and my body still falling. I could feel my calves and thighs tense under the pressure that they were storing. Finally, when the ground was inches from my face, I pushed off, straining the muscles in my toes.

As I supplied this muscle movement, the SAO system detecting the beginning of a sword skill, and my broadsword, which was still at my side, begun to glow pure white. The system empowered my muscles, enhanced my reflexes, and all of the energy in my feet exploded as I rocketed forward at an incredible acceleration.

Ghost Rush

My acceleration burst would last me for eight meters meters. I assumed with more practice I would be able to increase or decrease the accelerating period, but for now it was an exact measurement.

The dank, torch lit dungeon became a blur, and artificial wind whipped at my face and howled in my ears. I struggled not to close my eyes as the pressure caused them to tear up. I ignored all of this as much as I could, and instead focused on my broadsword.

The muscles in my arms strained themselves to drive the blade horizontally in front of me, which was quite a feat, because my body was on a horizontal slant at the moment, meaning the blade would have technically been vertical if I were upright.

But I wasn't upright, and I was rapidly approaching the target, so I ignored my thoughts, and trusted my instincts. The "Forgotten Solider" was lowering its blade, attempting to slash me as I closed in on it, but I was faster. I had slipped below the blade before it had completed its swing. My left foot grazed the ground, and I used it as a pivot to spin my body around, enabling my two handed sword to gain even more momentum and power.

The glowing blade smashed into the already shattered ribs of the skeleton, crushing the remaining ribs on that side to dust, and the skeleton screamed in its unearthly, non-vocal-chord screech. It still had 10% health left, I noticed, but my attack wasn't finished. My broadsword had gone from my right hip to up above my left shoulder. I rolled the pommel of the blade in my hands slightly, enabling me to twist the sword so it was now above my right shoulder.

The skeleton was still trying to respond to the initial attack, and did not even attempt to raise its own short sword in defence as my still glowing two handed sword slashed diagonally downwards. Each bone that the broadsword hit jolted my whole body, but I continued to exert strength, and push. I shattered bone after bone, starting from the skeletons left shoulder down to its right hip. The skeleton screeched in agony as it fell to the ground in two pieces, skinless structures hanging limply.

Ghost Rush

It was a chain attack, a single skill that involved two hits. It was incredibly powerful, and incredibly fast. So fast that as Martin had watched me fight he had sworn that I had disappeared for an instant. Perhaps that's where the "Ghost" part of the name came from, the illusion that one simply disappeared like a ghost when they used the skill.

The skeletons screeching was thankfully cut off as it exploded into an array of colours and pixels, that floated to the ground like pixie dust, before blinking into nothing. I collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. It had not only been the longest fight I had fought in this world, but using Ghost Rush drained my stamina rapidly. It was either because I was a low level still, or I had not mastered my new sword skill to perfection. I had yet to determine which one of these affected my in-game stamina. Perhaps it was both?

Martin gave me a thumbs up, the health potion he had used earlier still restoring his health. Only 50% of his health had been recovered at this point. I glanced around, and noticed that Dark Blade had finished his fight with the skeleton bodyguard, while Jarvis was finishing his with a flashy sword skill. Spiky black hair could be seen behind Martin, notifying me that Chris was still hiding.

Exhaustion passed through me as I sighed with relief. It was over. This damned quest was over. It had been an exhilarating battle, but common sense was beginning to kick in, and I was realizing that I had almost died.

"Not cool," I muttered to myself.

"Very cool," said Martin, "That was one fancy sword skill you were hiding from me." His voice spiked with a tone of suspicious, as if he were wondering what other skills I was hiding from him.

I didn't respond. I didn't feel like defending myself about this right now. It was my sword skill, and it was my choice whether I showed it to other players or not.

Chris poked his head out from behind Martin and grinned at me. "That was awesome Sirius." This caused a grin out of me too. It was impossible not to smile when this kid acted so joyfully.

"The path's free kid, go and get your treasure."

He looked ecstatic, and practically bounced over to the three coffins. He climbed up the middle one and ran behind it to a raised, concrete platform. On the platform there was a wooden box, delicately decorated with gold décor. There was a lock attached to the box, and Chris gingerly spawned his quest key. With a bit of fumbling he managed to slip the key into a place, and with a solid, reassuring click, the lock broke open.

I glanced around the room, trying to locate Jarvis. He was the only one in the room I did not trust completely, and I was afraid he would pull some stunt to steal the treasure from Chris. I watched him carefully, but he didn't seem to react to the events going on in front of him, although a scowl of immense displeasure covered his face.

Chris pulled open the lid of the chest, and a glowing, golden light, erupted from the inside, a strong reminder that this was indeed a video game, and not real life. Instead of reaching into the chest, Chris played with the air in front of him with his fingers, navigating his menu. It appeared that one couldn't simply reach into a treasure chest; they had to observe what was inside by scrolling through an inventory list.

It was when I was distracted by the treasure chest, I was curious as to the nature of it in this video game world, that Jarvis made his move. It wasn't a stealthy, underhanded move that I had been expecting, but a simple charge. He had drawn his sword and rushed at Chris, whom had his back turned to us.

Jarvis had not made it halfway before I intercepted him, my giant blade pushing against his smaller blade. I glared at him, but was surprised to find he did not look angry with me. If anything his face looked panicked. Was it because I had surprised him with my interception?

"What are you doing, you moron!" He shouted at me. Perhaps he was dim witted, used to getting his way, and people not interrupting him.

"Stopping you, ya damn traitor" I shouted back.

"I'm not the enemy," He shouted, looking even more panicked now. He tried to slide around me, using our swords as a pivot point, but I spun with him, intercepting him again. Our spinning had switched our positions slightly, and I was able to see Chris and the treasure chest again, and what I saw shocked me. Dark Blade was running towards Chris with his blade raised. The maniacal grin on his face implied that he would give no mercy. He was attacking to kill. Bloodlust shined in his eyes, and blond hair whipped around the demon's face

I was frozen in shock, my brain trying to comprehend the events, and Jarvis had managed to slip past me. He ran towards Chris, but his attack was not directed at the spiky haired kid. Jarvis's sword collided with Dark Blade's sword, and a deafening clang of metal rang through the small room. At first glance it looked like Jarvis had held off the attack, but Dark Blade was grinning as his sword skill that had been targeting Chris activated, and instead targeted Jarvis.

Under normal circumstances, Dark Blades curved blade would not have been able to kill Jarvis in a single hit. Their levels and equipment were far too similar. However, Jarvis had just fought against a considerably strong skeletal opponent, and had yet to recover his health.

Dark Blade knew this, and his grin grew wider as he watched his companion's health disappear as his curved blade dug into Jarvis. Jarvis looked at me, his stare intense, and before the death game took his life, he muttered two words, barely audible, but the intention clear.

"Kill him"

Jarvis's body exploded into colourful technologic polygons, just like the "Forgotten Soldier" had minutes ago. The difference was that Jarvis was real. He was alive. He had once had a life. In the real world he would have had a caring family and loyal friends, but this death game had stolen all of that from him. While I stood dumbly, my sword hanging limply by my side, Jarvis's Nerve Gear would be releasing powerfully microwaves, frying his brain. This damn death game had murdered him

Laughter, the darkest and most inhumane laughter one could imagine, filled the room, snapping me out of my reprieve. Dark Blade was laughing, not a hint of sorrow was hidden in those eyes. Only bloodlust remained.

It wasn't the death game's that had murdered Jarvis, I realized. It's not the knife's fault when someone is stabbed to death, and it's not the gun's fault when someone is shot.

Weapons don't kill, people do.

Sword Art Online hadn't killed Jarvis, Dark Blade had.

I wanted to hurt Dark Blade. I wanted to punish him, make him scream for mercy, make him beg for forgiveness. The image of Daniel flowed into my head, and I hesitated. Did I truly want to take another life?

It was a mistake to hesitate, to fight an internal dilemma. Dark Blade hadn't made a fancy speech, or announced his love for blood, he had simply lifted his curved sword again in preparation to execute Chris. Just like last time, I couldn't make it. My reflexes were too slow. I was too far away. I wasn't fast enough.

Excuses, excuses, excuses! What was I doing, I couldn't make excuses! I had to move! Faster, faster and faster!

But I still couldn't make it, the curved blade was moving too fast. I screamed, begging some unnatural force to do something, anything. He was just a kid for god's sake!

And then he was there, his back to the curved blade, his body surrounding Chris, wrapping the kid in his arms in a protective gesture. There he stood. There stood the Spaniard. His self-sacrifice was incredible. His selflessness was unbelievable.

His health begun depleting as the blade dug into his armoured back, and all of the health that his health potion had recovered since the "Forgotten Solider" was wiped away in an instant.

But he was alive, and he had Chris in his arms. Dark Blade snarled, preparing for another attack.

I didn't hesitate this time. I leaned forwards, falling into the ground, tensing the muscles in my legs, and raising my broadsword to my side. I fell until I could feel the coarse, dusty ground with my nose, and then I launched myself.

Ghost Rush

My sword was shining brighter then ever, white light bouncing off of the dim, morose walls of the dungeon. My acceleration was greater than I had ever experienced. The first, upward strike parried Dark Blades curved blade, and his eyes widened in shock as I appeared in front of him. I pivoted on my left foot, swung my giant sword over my head, and pushing forward with my right foot, executed the second stage of the sword skill.

The second slash hit Dark Blade perfectly, and the strength and acceleration behind the attack blew him back several meters, his body impacting with the wall causing his sudden stop. Dark Blade's health dripped away. He had only taken 20% damage against the skeleton bodyguard, which was an incredible feat. I watched eagerly as his health decreased.

It was not enough. His health stopped decreasing at 40%, the same amount that I currently had left from my boss battle. Ghost Rush was my most powerful move, but it had failed to kill him. I felt panic rise in my gut, but I pushed it down, the rational part of my brain working in overtime trying to calm me. While Dark Blade was pushing himself off of the wall, I rapidly selected two teleportation crystals from my inventory and threw them at Martin. We had each received one crystal at the beginning of the game, one was mine, and one had been Daniel's. I was confident Daniel would forgive me in the afterlife for using it if it saved someone's life.

Martin grabbed both of them, shoved one into Chris's hands, and activated both of them. The process took several seconds, and if they were attacked during this time, the crystal would fail, and shatter, but Dark Blade was fortunately still recovering from my attack.

"Don't die Sirius," said Martin seriously, while bright blur light begun to swirl around him like a whirlpool.

I smiled. "That's the first time you've called me by my name, you damn Spaniard."

He smiled. "So it is," and then the whirlpool of light surrounding him, and as the light faded away, nothing but space was left behind.

I turned to face Dark Blade who had peeled himself off the wall, and was prowling toward me. I stared in confusion at the green player marker above his head that had changed colour to orange.

"It means I'm an outlaw," Dark Blade explained, answering my curious glance. "Of course, you wouldn't know because you're not a beta player. You're nothing like me."

"Why?" I managed.

"Why did I kill Jarvis? Because I want to survive. If I want to survive, I need the best of the best. I need the most effective equipment I can possibly obtain. I needed the treasure."

"I always thought that it was Jarvis that would kill for the treasure."

Dark Blade laughed, and it echoed and rung off the damp walls that surrounded us. "You mistook Jarvis's personality for a killing intent? That's how he would act around everyone, pretending not to trust them, relying only on himself." He grinned cruelly. "Look where that got him."

I was silent. I was berating myself for not realizing earlier. The reason I accused Jarvis was simply because I had never opened up to him, never gave him the chance to confide with me. I had been biased.

I realized now, I remembered everything. The player I had originally fought, and originally held hatred against had never been Jarvis. I had never fought a duel against Jarvis, I had duelled against the monster that was prowling in front of me.

"It's time for us to finish our duel," I said quietly, barely a whisper, but he heard perfectly. The horrific, inhumane grin that was plastered on his face split open to allow the sickening laughter to escape.

"Yes, lets," was all Dark Blade said before he swung his curved sword.

We parried each other's blade and danced with our bodies. I was faster on my feet and more agile, but Dark Blade's attacks were faster then my large blade could keep up with. I had to rely on my acrobatics and reflexes to dodge the majority of Dark Blade's slashes.

He was too close for me to activate Ghost Rush, and I did not want to use Vertical Slash, as it was such a predictable move and I was worried Dark Blade would be able to take advantage of it. I was also worried about the lag time after a sword skill was used. Dark Blade had yet to use a sword skill, but I was unsure as to why that was, whether it was for the same reason as me or not.

I was exhausted, I had only just fought against the strongest enemy I had yet seen, and already I was fighting another life threatening battle. My concentration was wavering, and Dark Blade's bloodthirsty blade managed to nick my arms several times as the battle continued. My health was slowly being decreased, while I had yet to land a single blow on my opponent.

We danced around the room, the clashing of metal on metal raging in our ears. The flashing sparks as the swords collided hurt our eyes, especially in the dim, torch lit room. I didn't want to kill Dark Blade, but as the battle raged on, I worried I would be forced to go to that extreme. I was out of my league to begin with. Dark Blade was stronger, not only in level, but in playtime and experience. I couldn't hold back and still expect to win.

My attacks grew more reckless, and the intent behind them grew stronger. When my broadsword made contact with Dark Blade's curved sword he would be pushed back by my overwhelming strength. It was never enough though, as Dark Blade would recover instantly and be back on the offensive. His slashes would rain down faster than I could defend, so I would have to resort to dodging.

What could I do to win? How could I survive? It all seemed so hopeless.

Suddenly Dark Blade stumbled, his feet tripping over something. I didn't hesitate for an instant. I raised my blade above my right shoulder, activated Vertical Crush, and let my broadsword slice through Dark Blade. He didn't scream in pain or shock or anger, he just looked disappointed. As he fell backwards to the ground, fear overcame his facial features, and he begun to tear up.

"Please," he whispered, "I don't want to die."

But before a single tear could leave his eye and journey down his face, he exploded into polygons as the death game took yet another life away from two worlds. It didn't just steal the life from this world; it stole it from both worlds.

I was silent as I looked around the room. I glanced down at my feet, and discovered what Dark Blade had stumbled on, the cause of his defeat.

It was Jarvis's sword. When players died there inventory remained behind, and players could loot it, just like I had done with Daniel. Items that the player was physically holding fell onto the ground and remained as an object, while all other inventory were stored in a small glowing source of light that represented a tombstone for the dead player. Jarvis had been holding his sword when he had died, and it had fell on the ground and remained there as a physical object, undisturbed until Dark blade had slipped on it.

Perhaps that was Karma. Dark Blade had reaped what he'd sowed by killing Jarvis, and Jarvis had ultimately aided in Dark Blade's murder.

Then what about me? I had just killed a player. Another player, I had killed two now. First Daniel, and now Dark Blade. I didn't feel any resentment towards my deed of killing Dark Blade, but what would others say. Would Karma strike me next?

"You bastard," said a soft feminine voice from behind me.

Perhaps this too, was also karma.

* * *

**Last night I saw Alt-J (∆) live, and they were incredible. If you haven't heard of them I highly suggest looking them up on youtube, for example, listen to Breezeblocks.**

**Anyway, thats my little bit of advertising done for the month, hope you enjoyed the chapter**

**-Cheers**

**Council**


	13. Suspicion

I was tired. I had been trapped in this damned death game for seven days now, but it felt like an eternity. I was just so tired. I couldn't sleep properly, the nightmares keeping me up every night, only daybreak truly saving me. I just wanted to sleep, to pass out, and to wake up back in the real world. I was so very tired.

"You bastard," whispered a feminine voice from behind me, a voice laced with disgust. How had I not noticed her enter the room? Perhaps I was too tired?

Oh, I was just so very tired.

I turned around slowly, my feet dragging on the ground, my arms limply at my sides, my sword nothing more than a giant metal pivot. My eyes traced the scenery slowly, the two once solid wooden supporting pillars, now rotting with age, the dank, moist walls, the mould covered ceilings, the orange glare of the torches in their brackets.

My tired eyes rested upon the source of the voice. Her ginger hair was brighter then the torches, her body looked weaker then the supporting pillars, her eyes looked darker then the darkest corner of the room. The seemingly decrepit girl with the avatar name "Red" glared at me.

"Oh please, what did I do this time, _girl_?" I exasperated the last word of my sentence, intending the insult it implied.

Her cheeks puffed out in annoyance, but unlike our last encounter, she held herself in check, and refused to be drawn into my silly antics. Something had changed in the past six hours. Something big.

"I thought I misjudged you, did you know that?" She began, and I prepared myself for a rant. "When I first saw you, I thought you were a bloodthirsty, battle obsessed idiot. Look at this man, I had thought, it's been one day in and he's already fighting someone, two weeks in he'll have killed his first player."

She paused, and retracted part of her statement. "No, not killed, murdered. I thought that you would eventually murder someone." She was balanced on the heels of her feet, her whole body tensed, ready for a fight. When I stared closely I could see her arms shivering in expectation of an upcoming fight. The dagger in her hand flickered the torchlight, and defined the serrated edge of the blade.

"Well, I'm glad we got that misunderstanding out of the way, right?" I said jokingly. I didn't understand where this was going, and I understood that a stupid joke wasn't going to spare my life, but I felt I had to say something to fill in the awkward pause in her story.

"Oh yes, of course we did," She spat out, her voice full of venom. "Why, that young boy looked up to you so _fondly_ didn't he? You were his hero, did you know that? What am I saying, of course you knew that, that's how you led him on right?"

I still didn't get where this was going. "Listen, he came to me on his own accord alright."

"And wasn't that just so damn utterly _perfect_ for you." Each word she said was smothered in hate, hate that was directed at me. "When he told me the, oh so heart wrenching story of how you saved his life I thought I had made a mistake. I thought I had misjudged you. I felt guilty, so to compensate, I decided that I would meet you, and start again on a blank page." She never laughed, never smiled, just glared at me with eyes of unforgiving anger. "To think I felt guilty for someone like _you_!" She spat the last word out. It resonated around the room, echoing, repeating, as if to prove her point, to prove that she was right.

"I'm honoured you thought so highly of me"

"Don't you dare mock me you filthy bastard!" she screamed, taking me off guard. I had not expected such an outburst. Maybe I should have expected it though, she was not very mentally balanced right now, and my snide comments weren't exactly helping.

"So, true to my word, I met you today, and what did I discover? You were nothing but a joker, a kid with a loud mouth and a big ego. Sure, you annoyed the hell out of me, but you deserved none of the hate I had held for you. So I forgave you."

"I heard your apology the first time. Once is enough, I hate to see people grovelling for me." She ignored my comment completely, and I just sighed, not content with waiting out her story, but realizing I didn't have much of a choice. At least my health was inching its way back up as she ranted. Sure, it was only at 30%, but that was more then before.

"Every day I visit the plaque in "Starting City", and offer a bouquet of flowers to the dead. None of these people wanted to die, none of them offered their lives for this game. But yet, there they lay, gone in both this world and the real world." I begun to have a troublesome feeling about what she was about to say. I hoped that she had not discovered a particular name on that wall today.

"You think you're so high and mighty, fighting anyone who is in your way just to prove yourself. You disgust me, you are the lowest of the low." Now I was starting to get annoyed. I could stand insults for a while, but my patience was not infinite, and it was quickly wearing thin.

"Just what the hell are you accusing me of, Red?" I said her name in a jeering tone, mocking her.

"Cig Bock, killed in a duel by Sirius!" She spat out my name like it was poison in her mouth. "That's what I found. You are a murder! A goddamn murderer who doesn't confess his crimes. Don't you even feel any remorse you… you monster!"

Now I was angry. She didn't know the first thing about what had happened with Daniel. I wasn't a murderer. Was I? I couldn't be, I had convinced myself of that, it was an accident, an accident that I had no control over.

"Now you listen here-" but I was cut off as Red's violent release of words shut me up. Despite her weak body frame, she certainly had a violent tongue.

"I don't have to listen to a murderer! As soon as I realized what you were, I knew what I had to do. Chris had told me all about the quest, I knew exactly what was going to happen. I ran around the city, searching for this abandoned building, hoping I would get there in time." She looked like she was going to start crying. "I was too late, and now I've let the monster take another life, a young boys life no less."

"Now wait a minute, I didn't kill that boy-"

"You can't fool me you murderer, I know exactly what an orange player indicator means." I glanced above my head, and swore as I realized the green marker that was usually above my head was no longer green, but orange.

"You don't understand," I said rapidly, beginning to panic. "This isn't from Chris, this is from Dark Blade-"

She just stared at me, and I winced as I realized what I had said. I had probably just signed my own death sentenced with that statement. "You killed more than one in here"

"No, Chris isn't dead, I swear, I promise, Dark Blade was trying to kill Chris, not me! He's the monster! You have to believe me."

"I don't have to believe anything you say."

"Please…" My voice faded away, and exhaustion threatened to overwhelm me. I was so, so very tired.

Red raised her dagger with a threatening gesture, and shifted her body into an aggressive stance. She didn't say any final words, she didn't give any hint that she was about to end my life. She just attacked.

I raised my broadsword in desperation. I didn't want to die! Not here, not now, not ever. I could beat her, I was powerful, and my fighting style was unbeatable.

As she leaped towards me, I stabbed out at her with my blade, trying to use the long range of my weapon to my advantage. The point of my blade was on target, and it was impossible for her to avoid the attack.

She didn't avoid the attack. She simply batted my blade away with her miniscule dagger. I felt myself being pushed back as she continued her assault. Her serrated dagger dug into my chest before I had time to react. I jumped back, using my agility stat to out speed her, and create some distance between us.

She was faster then me though. It was impossible. How could a player be both stronger and faster then me? I had put almost all of my stat points into Strength and Agility, it should be impossible for her to be this unstoppable.

I charged at her, activating my sword skill Vertical Crush, but she just rolled around it, predicting my basic manoeuvre. She slid inside my defences and slashed at me again. I winced as the serrated edge dug into my skin. It felt like the blade was tearing out pieces of my flesh, but the system wasn't programmed for that much physical detail, so I was simply left with overwhelming mental pain.

I collapsed to the ground unarmed, my sword on the ground outside of my reach. I looked up at my attacker, my executer. Her ginger hair flew around her face like fire, extenuating the striking green of her eyes, which currently held only disgust. Her body was so weak, so frail, her arms looked as thin as twigs, and her long fingers that were entwined around the hilt of her weapon might as well have been twigs.

But she was strong, so incredibly, ridiculously strong. How? It wasn't fair, I was level seven at this point. I had even levelled up once while going through this damn quest. I was one of the strongest players in the game.

It couldn't be, I thought, as I was hit by a dreadful possibility. Was it possible that the reason she could be both stronger and faster then me was because she was higher levelled then me? Not just slightly, it was possible she was level nine, or even double digits.

Was she that obsessed with this game that she would go to even more extreme training methods then what I had done, or had it all been done in an effort to extract punishment upon me?

I didn't have time to confirm my theories and ask however, as the ginger girl raised her dagger, preparing for the final attack that would annihilate my health bar, in turn destroying me.

Perhaps this was meant to be. I had killed Daniel after all, so perhaps this was my punishment. I had told myself that it was an accident, just an accident, that it wasn't my fault, but it really was my fault, wasn't it? I really had killed Daniel. As I told myself, guns don't kill, people do. It wasn't the system that was evil, it was the people that were evil. It was me that was evil.

I closed my eyes, resigning to my fate. I wanted to sleep, and never wake up, and be done with this damn game. I was just so very tired.

And that was why I never saw the miraculous, brave and bold entrance of my saviour.

I heard the clash of steel, the whipping of wind around the flapping of a cloak, the heavy, but even breathing. I opened my eyes and saw a figure looming in front of me, a giant two-handed blade in his hands, opposing Red, the woman who had been trying to kill me.

The figure had a black cloak ran down his back, hiding most of his body, except for the two arms that stuck out, holding the hilt of his decorated blade. The figure raised his blade, as if he was performing Vertical Strike, but the move differed drastically. The two handed sword was swung around his head in orbit once, before colliding with Red's measly dagger. The attack caused powerful gusts of wind to swish around the room, blowing out torches, and tearing at my hair.

A burst of wind found its way under the cloaked figure's hood, and the hood was torn off his face, and I was confronted with a familiar mop of messy black hair.

"Rhythm?" I managed to say, surprise layering my voice. He turned his head slightly and gave me a quick grin, before continuing with his battle.

Rhythm was strong, much stronger then me. As I watched the battle, I realized that both fighters were evenly matched, they could have both been the same level. My rational thinking refused to acknowledge this however, and I was still panicking incredibly worried that Red would murder Rhythm in her vengeance against me.

Rhythm's fighting style was identical to mine. He was lightly armoured, with a giant two handed blade. His blade resembled a claymore, a long, thin blade with a large hilt, and the whole sword must have been over a meter and a half long. He fought ferociously and without grace, but his attacks were perfectly timed. He incorporated sword skills into his fights with ease, activating them at moments when he was safe from a counterattack, and ended them without leaving himself vulnerable.

Red fought just as well, her red hair flashing as she danced around Rhythm, her dagger glinting in the remaining torchlight as she attempted stabs at critical points. She only activated one sword skill, but it was an impressive three-chain attack sword skill that caused Rhythm to dodge like a ballet dancer.

The fight could have gone on forever, but there was one substantial difference between the two combatants. It was their weapons. Rhythms claymore was large and solid, not seeming to be damaged even when his blade was slammed into walls and floors.

Red's dagger on the other hand, was incredibly sharp, the serrated edges were able to tear through steel if need be, but the durability of the weapon was incredibly low. Rhythm had noticed this, and had begun concentrating his attacks, especially his overwhelmingly powerful sword skills, on her dagger.

It was after three minutes of their beautiful, but perilous dance that Red's dagger shattered, only the hilt remaining. She looked shocked, worried and irritated. A variety of emotions had flared over her face, but ultimately, she looked furious. She had missed her chance to murder me.

Rhythm looked surprised that he had won, as if he had started this battle with the mindset that he was going to lose. He tried not to let it show on his face however.

Red hissed, and ran out of the room before any of us could stop her. Rhythm took a few steps, as if to initiate a chase, but decided better. He walked back to me and held out a hand, his eyes sparkling, and a wide smile on his face. I clasped his hand, and let him help me up. We clapped each other on the back, before unclasping our hands.

"It's good to see you Richard," he said.

"Same to you Matthew," I replied, using our real world names. I looked him over, noticing for the second time how similar his character currently looked compared to mine. The same light armour, two handed sword, and similar stats. We were identical except for the gaping level difference.

"We're always thinking the same thing, aren't we?" he said, proving his statement yet again. "It's always been that way."

"And always will be." I glanced toward the pile of items on the ground that had been dropped by the deceased. Two bright lights signifying tombstones remained, containing the contents that were in Dark Blade's and Jarvis's inventory.

Realizing it would be a waste to simply leave those valuables here, I walked over, and begun gathering them before they disappeared. Rhythm was by my side instantly, gathering some items he thought were essential. He kept some potions and col, but left the remaining items for me.

"So, who many did you kill?" Rhythm asked. Although there was no menace in his voice like that of Red's, his voice was low and serious.

I glanced up at my orange player marker, cursing it to go away. But of course, it didn't. "I killed a player called Dark Blade, but that wasn't until he killed Jarvis." I prayed he'd believe that. If Rhythm, my closest friend, practically my brother, didn't believe me, then who would?

Rhythm sighed, slumping down to the ground beside me. He crossed his legs and positioned his body in front of me.

"Tell me everything," he said, and so I told him everything.

I described the first time I met Dark Blade and Jarvis, and how I had duelled Dark Blade and rescued Chris. I explained Chris's key and the quest involved. I told him about Martin, and how he had saved my life countless times, how he was the most trusted player I had met here.

I described Red, how she had interrupted my duel with Dark Blade. She had met me a second time, and apologized, and we had parted in a midst of insulting words, but with a better relationship.

I described Chris's quest, and the party. I spoke of the events that led to Jarvis being murdered by Dark Blade, and then I spoke of how I had murdered Dark Blade. I quietly explained how Red had lectured me, and then attacked me, intending to kill.

Rhythm nodded his head throughout the story, and hummed at certain parts, but his eyes never betrayed me. His eyes saw through me, twinkling in the darkness, and every time our stares met, his eyes reassured me. They told me.

"I believe you"

He never doubted me, not once. He was truly the best friend one could ever have. Once I finished the story, he stood up, clapped me on the shoulder, and smiled.

It was one of the most relieving smiles I had ever received in my life. I felt like all the problems and troubles I'd had in the past week just disappeared. It was such a relief to be able to share your burdens with someone else. I had forgotten how good that felt.

Then it was my turn to ask questions. "Why are you even here?"

He grinned. "Luck" he said. "I was at the memorial stone, the one in "Starting City", with Becka-" he paused, worried as to how I would react. I cringed at the sound of her name, but otherwise held back any other emotions I felt, especially the emotions I experienced from the nightmares. They were tightly locked away, awake only at night.

"We were offering flowers for Daniel. We've been doing that every day. As we were reminiscing at the stone, a red headed girl came over with flowers and laid them in front of the stone. I asked her whom she was mourning over. Guess what her response was?" I shrugged, not really caring what the girl had said, especially after she had tried to murder me.

"Everyone, but no one in particular." Rhythm quoted. "She was mourning for every single player that had ever died in the hellish game. I know you probably refuse to believe it right now, but she has a good heart, and it's in the right place."

Rhythm was right, and he was making me feel guilty, but I just couldn't see her as a pure person after she had just made an attempt on my life.

Rhythm continued with his story. "She asked us who we were mourning over, and Becka told her about Daniel. The girl couldn't find Daniel's name on the stone-"

"Well obviously, who'd ever look for a player named "Cig Bock""

"He really was a clown, wasn't he?" We both remained mute for a minute, silently remembering our fallen friend.

Eventually, Rhythm cleared his throat, and continued talking. "She couldn't find Daniel's name, so we pointed it out, and her face went pale when she read it."

"Pale?" I asked, wondering how the already pale girl could have become paler.

"Well, you know what I mean. She suddenly ran off, and Becka laughed at first, thinking it was from the shock of discovering Daniel's name, and that the red head hadn't wanted to laugh and offend us. But I realized otherwise, we had forgotten an important fact. We had forgotten to explain how Daniel had died."

"Ah," was all I said. The story was starting to make sense now. Red had seen that I had murdered a player, and not knowing it had been an accident, had rushed to stop me before I could kill anyone else. She had assumed my goal was to kill Chris, and so when she found me in an empty dungeon with a red player marker, and Chris absent, she had flipped.

Rhythm continued his story. "So I left Becka, and followed that girl. It took about an hour of running, but she eventually entered an abandoned house. I was about five minutes behind her, my tracking skill isn't incredible at this point. I managed to arrive in time to intercept the death blow aimed at you, and well, you know the rest."

"I guess I should apologize to you," Rhythm continued quietly, "If I had explained myself properly at the memorial stone, she never would have acted like that, and your relationship with her wouldn't be so… deadly."

I was shocked that Rhythm was apologizing. He had saved my life for god's sake, I should be the one apologizing. But that was just who he was.

"Don't worry about it, we're even now that you've saved me." We both grinned, happy that our relationship was still in one piece, still the same as the real world. We had always relied on each other, even in this strange world, and it was a relief that we still could.

I hesitated before asking the next question on my mind.

"You can't see her yet," Rhythm said bluntly, answering my unspoken question.

"I see…"

"She doesn't hate you, it's just that…" his voice trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his sentence.

"It's just that she doesn't hate me yet." I finished for him.

"Yeah, that's it," he said depressingly. He really wanted our old group back together again, or at least, as together as possible.

"It's ok, we can message each other. I don't know why we haven't been doing that already." I said, and Rhythm cheered up at that, happy to be able to communicate with his friend again.

"Yeah of course, just don't message Becka, she's not ready yet, I'll tell you when its time." He sighed. "She doesn't even know why I ran off today"

"Shouldn't you be going then?"

"Oh shite!" Rhythm said in panic. Becka would kill him for running off.

"Make sure you have a good excuse."

"Oh you know me, I'm the god of deception"

We both laughed and then he ran up the stairs, eager to return to Becka before he received some sort of divine punishment from her.

He stopped before reaching the top of the stairs, took off his black cloak, and threw it at me.

"So you can hide yourself from that girl. That, and the orange mark above your head is going to give you hell. It's best if no one can recognize your face for a while."

I wrapped the black cloak around my shoulders. "Nice, I think it looks better on me than it did on you."

"You wish," and we both laughed again, enjoying our brief moment of serenity.

"It's been good to see you again Sirius."

"Same to you, Rhythm."

* * *

**Sorry that this took a while to come out. That and for the next few weeks they're probably going to be coming out slower. Exams suck, enough said.**

**I've been thinking about how far I want to take this story. It's still on floor 1, and I didn't plan for the story to end at floor 75, but rather later. I guess some time skips would be appropriate, but I'm not really a fan of those. If you care enough, tell me what you think :)**

****

Cheers

**-Council**


	14. The Cabin on the Hill

My black cloak rippled in the wind as I stood among the vast plains of the first floor, admiring the wooden necklace on my wrist. I was rather reluctantly heading toward "Starting City", as there was to be an important gathering that would occur there today. I was reluctant because venturing into a city in my current… predicament could easily become my death wish.

I glanced up in irritation at the orange player marker above my head. The mark had been a perpetual curse for the past thirteen days. I had quickly discovered that guards within cities did not react kindly to orange branded players, and the seemingly invincible AI's would threaten to catch me and kill me. Perhaps at higher levels defeating the guards would be a plausible feat. I would just have to wait and see.

Therefore I had avoided towns as much as I could, choosing to only venture within those once safe areas only if I desperately needed to restock on potions, or desperately in need of food. Otherwise for the past two weeks I had been living inside the grizzled mountain man's cabin on top of the hill that I had discovered with Martin. I hadn't dared to sleep outside of a house, for fear that monsters would kill me in my sleep, and the occupants of the house had not been vocally adverse against my presence.

The old man's cabin had not been the only house in the plains I had discovered, but it was the only one that was appropriate for me. I had discovered several other houses, but other players commonly visited them for various reasons, and if the AI guards had been trouble, then other players were deadly.

The day that I had murdered Dark Blade, I had fled "Starting City", eager to avoid being captured by Red. Martin had sent me an urgent message minutes after Rhythm and I had parted.

-Do not stay in "Starting City", a crazy red headed bitch has informed some of the more experienced players to watch out for a bloodthirsty murderer who goes by the name of Sirius. I trust you amigo, stay alive-

I was glad that I had met one person in this crazed world who I could trust. Following Martin's reasonable advice I fled the city immediately, managing to avoid any players, but unfortunately attracting the attention of a number of guards. Fortunately guards weren't programmed to leave safe zones so as soon as I had sprinted past the looming arches at the north gate, they abandoned their pursuit.

That night had been my first experience being treated like a criminal.

I had been followed the well defined, commonly used footpath that led from the "Starting City". On the path I discovered a party of six players, quite the large party, especially at this point in the game. Barely a week had passed and they had already organized themselves into a full sized party. I concluded that they had been out hunting and were now returning to "Starting City". "Home", was what many people called "Starting City" now.

I saw them, and raised my hand in a friendly gesture, but instead of receiving a friendly call in return, I heard a barrage of harsh orders from what appeared to be their leader. Before I grasped the situation the group had surrounded me.

"Pay for your crimes, murderer!" The leader shouted, before lunging at me.

It was fortunate that I had left "Starting City" the day after hearing the GM's announcement, as it gave me a distinct level advantage over the majority of players. This was fortunately the case with this party of six, none of which were over level three.

Perhaps they didn't know that I was level seven, or perhaps all the fighting with weak animals had lulled them into a false sense of god like invincibility, but they were not worried about attacking me.

And that worried me.

I did not want to kill anyone. I did not want to be a murderer. I had been forced to take such an extreme action against Dark Blade. I would never regret my choice, as I had saved more lives than taken lives with my murder, but that didn't mean that I was a blood lusting players who was hell bent on murdering other players. These idiotic low level players were unfortunately tempting fate right now however.

With a lithe step to the side, and a simple slash from my broadsword I lowered the leaders health by 70%. One blow had almost killed him in one hit! The leader noticed this and was visibly worried, but the rest of the party were oblivious to their leaders predicament, and continued to fight me.

Not wanting to accidently one hit kill someone, as I was sure that is exactly what could happen with one of the weaker players, I focused solely on attacking their blades. I dodged and weaved around the arsenal of attacks that assaulted me, my acrobatics skill allowing me to be agile and light on my feet. My agility was far greater than anyone in the opposing party, and I was able to dodge most of the attacks gracefully and easily. It was impossibly to avoid every attack, as I was being assaulted from five directions (the leader had refused to re-enter the fight), but none of the attacks were direct hits, only glancing blows off of my vambraces or shoulders. Even without being heavily armoured, the scathing blows only chipped away around 5% of my health each time.

To them, I must have seemed like a God, an omnipotent being impossible to defeat. It occurred to me that the SAO system could indeed make players into Gods. If one were stronger than every other player in the game by a substantial level difference, then they would be unbeatable. Even if every player in the game attacked simultaneously if one were high enough levelled they could simply regenerate at a faster rate than at what they take damage. Was that a flaw in the game, or had that style of character progression been included purposefully?

The party had fled in terror by the time I had shattered three of their weapons, and injured the other two players. As they ran, they screamed threats and promises of revenge. One of them shouted something about a seven foot, blond haired demon, and I sighed as I realized that my identity as a murderer had been compromised within hours. The party would obviously retell this scene to an eager crowd back at "Starting City", and Red would undoubtedly hear, put the information together, and realize that the murderer she was chasing had fled the city, and was on the run.

I did not sleep that night for fear that monsters would attack me, and instead fought against "Dire Wolves" until daybreak. Once they had been too strong and dangerous for me, but I was now one level stronger then them. It was still a challenge to fight them, and I had to remain focused throughout the night, but it was a comforting distraction from the day's events.

I had been disappointed that the nighttime wolves gave no extra experience or col despite being four levels stronger then the regular wolves. Four whole levels stronger! And nothing extra! It was ridiculous, but I presumed that it was to dissuade players to fight at night, and to enjoy a regular schedule such as dinner and sleep.

Both dinner and sleep were impossible for me though, and so I fought until morning, with only two health potions remaining, but one level stronger. I felt no satisfaction however, just exhaustion, and I stumbled over to a tree and pondering how to climb it and sleep in the branches when I received another message from Martin.

-Bad news amigo, they got posters of you everywhere, it's just like one of those cowboy movies. Whatever you do, do not return to "Starting City". If there's anything you need to buy, tell me, and let's meet up at the house on the hill-

I thanked the heavens that Martin was as loyal and helpful as he was. I asked him to buy two-dozen health potions, along with enough food for the next four days. I would have asked for more food if there weren't an expiry date on every single food product in this game. Some foods took longer to go off then others, but everything did eventually, and when it did it simply shattered into non-existence. I once experienced a very miserable way for a slice of cake to disappear.

Two hours later I had met with Martin at the house on the hill, and he delivered the goods. I tried to pay him a substantial amount of col, as that many health potions were incredibly expensive, but he refused, stating that the teleportation crystal I had thrown at him during the previous quest was of approximately equal value to that many potions.

I had grumbled about not liking to owe people, and Martin had just grinned, and laughed his colourful laughter. It was relieving that not all players would assault orange players, and would actually aid them. I thought about it a bit more, and decided that it wasn't so much relieving as worrying. What if in the future certain players helped real bloodthirsty murderers survive? I sighed when I realized that the general population would not be able, or not be willing, to distinguish between myself or a real bloodthirsty murderers

Martin then grimly told me about the situation in "Starting City". The name "Sirius" had become something of a taboo. The title had spread like wildfire, and in the space of twelve hours, it had become a fixed part of the game language. If someone told you that you were being "Sirius", it meant you were going crazy, or planning to do something dangerous to others that you would regret. The spelling behind the name had become obscured, and eventually players who were "Sirius" were labelled as "Serious Players".

"Trust me," Martin had said, "You do not want to be labelled as a serious player, no one dares to interact with you for fear they'll be murdered."

What was most surprising was that this change had come about in the past twelve hours. Either Red was an advertising prodigy, or the average player within "Starting City" was so bored and miserable that they absorbed any news they heard instantly simply as a way to pass the time.

Martin's story got worse. A particular party had seen my face when I had run into them the night before. One of them, unfortunately for me, had been training the painting skill. The wanted posters of me that were being created were an unfortunately decent reflection of what I actually looked like. Being naturally 6'4 didn't help much either.

Martin and I both agreed that until it was safe I should wear the black cloak Rhythm had given me last night at all times and cover my face as often as possible. Although I would be unable to hide my status as an orange player (Or as a "Serious Player", I supposed), I would be able to hide my identity.

I thanked Martin greatly for everything he had done. He simply responded with a serious expression on his face. "Don't thank me, this is what friends do," and he had left.

I had 'ahhed" in realization. Of course, Martin wasn't just some companion I had met in this game. He was a friend, and a brave and loyal one at that. I had fought with him, fought with our lives on the line, and both of us had selflessly made life-threatening sacrifices for each other. If that didn't make us friends, then I didn't know what did.

That was when I realized that I had to change my way of thinking about this world that I was currently living in. It was not longer just a video game where you meet people online for a while, and never see them again. This was a brand new vivid world that was going to be my home for god knows how long. If I was going to survive this game mentally intact then I would have to admit that SAO was all as real as the world I had once occupied.

That realization took a surprisingly large load off my shoulders. I no longer felt stressed about being stuck in a video game. I understood that I was no longer, stuck in a game, but living my life in a beautiful world.

Re-equiped with two dozen precious potions I ventured out of the house on the hill to do the only thing I could do, train. For the following thirteen days I had hunted down and fought the "Giant Brown Bears", the monster that Martin had once pursued for a quest.

It was all a surprisingly convenient arrangement. The fights were always one on one, which I excelled at in comparison to being outnumbered but by weaker foes. The forest that the bears were located in was bordered against the hill that the house sat upon, meaning I had little need to venture far, and if I was ever tired, I could retreat to the safety of the house immediately. Most importantly, the "Giant Brown Bears" were possibly the strongest respawnable enemies of the first floor. The skeleton I had fought with Martin was stronger, but that monster was never to respawn again. The bears on the other hand respawned every thirty minutes or so, and there were always a few of them roaming around the forest. Therefore I spent my days travelling through the forest on a bear hunt.

Martin delivered food and health potions to me every few days. He explained important things that were occurring in the world of SAO, and tried to answer any questions I asked him.

The most important question I had asked him was how long the orange player icon would stay above my head for. He had unfortunately been unable to discover this information so far, and although he apologized, I felt that he had no need to. He was putting himself in enough danger just asking people about orange players. He didn't have to apologize to me about putting his own life in danger.

When I tried to explain this, he had simply brushed it off by saying "We're amigos remember? This is what we do for each other," and all I could do was smile, and tell him off for calling me an amigo.

Eight days into my training I had yet to lose my orange player marker, which was not a cause to celebrate, but I had reached level ten, which was a cause to celebrate. I had eaten up all of the sweet cakes that the cute NPC granddaughter had offered to Martin and I on my first night at the house, and had been deeply disappointed that there was a finite amount. When I returned to the cabin on the eighth day, the NPC granddaughter gave me an adorable wink, and slipped a sweet cake into my palms while saying "Congratulations".

It was indeed strange, but I felt that the NPC's, which should have been non-sentient beings, were reacting to my constant presence around them, and drawing them in, making me part of their family. Call me crazy, but I could've sworn I heard the grizzled old man muttering about finding a girl for his grandson to marry.

Common sense kicked in, and I warned myself not to get attached to these pieces of data, because in the end they were not real. As much as it pained me to think it, I had to tell myself that they _did not exist_.

However, I had to find some way to thank the granddaughter, and I felt uncomfortable calling her granddaughter, or girl, so I decided to name her Lily. This was purely a rational reasoning however, to make it easier for me to communicate her, and was most definitely not influenced at all by my rampant emotions.

Needless to say, I was surprised when the old man presented me with a bed, and a whole bedroom to myself. The old man had supposedly spent all day building the bed from supplies he had gathered from the surrounding area. He was a master wood worker, as evidenced from the creation of Martin's shield, and the bed was a work of art. The bed was made of solid wood, and I had woken up stiff all over, but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I thanked the doting grandfather.

When I reached level ten I unlocked a new skill slot. I immediately selected the "Hiding" skill. I was hoping it would enable me to enter cities stealthily and avoid players in the fields. I was still worried about being confronted by other players during the day, and hopefully the hiding skill would prevent this.

From day eight onwards, I did not just attack the "Giant Brown Bears", but stalked them from the treetops for hours at a time. This tactic was excellent, as it raised my hiding skill as I hid, my acrobatics skill as I jumped from tree to tree, and my spotting skill as I constantly discovered wildlife from my elevated perch.

On the twelfth night I sat down to eat dinner with my impromptu family. The old man told stories about a legion solider who travelled around the world helping people in need, and fighting in the dark war. Lily listened attentively, and I realized that the stories her grandfather told her must one of the highlights of her day. It was a shame that the stories were not true, but I didn't have the heart to ruin that for Lily.

As the old man became absorbed in his story his eyes would gaze at the ornate sword that was hung above the fireplace. I could tell by looking at it that it was not a sword for fighting with, but a sword for decoration. The hilt guard appeared to be made of intricately carved silver, and I failed to see how that would be beneficial in a battle.

The old man would often gaze lovingly at that sword, and so despite my initial dismissal of the blade I grew ever more curious as to the story behind the sword. Perhaps there was a quest involved somehow to receive it, I pondered.

By the thirteenth day, I was level eleven, and the bears were a pitiful excuse of a challenge for me. It was on the thirteenth day when Martin sent me an important message.

-The First Floor Final Boss has been discovered. There is a meeting at the auditorium in "Starting City" to discuss strategies. Come at your own risk-

That damn Spaniard. He must have known that a message like that would cause me to rush to the "Starting City" in perfect ignorance of any danger that I might encounter.

So I packed up as many of my belongings as I could from around the house. The old man had made me a treasure chest last night for me to store the excess amounts of bear fur I had been acquiring. Sometimes he could be such a caring guardian. Lily hugged me before I left, making me promise to come back. I laughed and reassured her of my return, and she slipped a small wooden bracelet around my wrist. The wood was carved clumsily, but was exceptionally crafted for a nine year old girl. Her grandfather must teach her the arts of wood crafting during the day when I was out training. There were words engraved on the bracelet, and although some of the letters were a bit illegible, the message was unmistakable.

-Big Brother-

I was still admiring the bracelet when I decided to take a rest upon the vast plains of the first floor. My black cloak rippled in the wind, and I reluctantly began walking again to "Starting City", praying this reckless action wouldn't result in my death.

* * *

Sirius/Richard: Level eleven

**Stats:**

Strength: 16

Agility: 15

Dexterity: 5

Perception: 10

Vitality: 9

Luck: ?

**Skills:**

Two Handed Sword Skill: 93

Acrobatics: 78

Spotting: 49

Hiding: 55

**Sword Skills:**

Vertical Crush

Ghost Rush

…

**Just in case you were curious ^^**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	15. The Meeting

I took a deep breath, tasting the cool air that accompanied the rising dusk. My chinstrap beard could be seen from beneath the hood of the cloak, but my dirty blond hair was hidden from view, along with my light gray eyes that were currently twinkling in anticipation. A strong gust of wind whipped around the alley corner, and up the edge of the building, threatening to blow my hood off as I balanced precariously on the edge of the three-story building.

Of course, I wouldn't die if I fell, especially not in this world. At the most I'd experience a jolting pain throughout my body that would severely deter me from any stupid ideas in the near future, but I would not die. When one was inside a safe zone, for example "Starting City", where I currently was, it was impossible to lose health through any other means other than duels.

Or at least, no one had discovered any other ways so far. I silently prayed that no one would.

The usually reassuring weight of the broadsword on my back was currently gone, as my faithful partner was being stored in my inventory. For what I had in mind, a giant sword on my back would not be helpful.

I was standing on the very outskirts of "Starting City", having managed to slip through the North Gate without being detected by any hostile guards. Training the Sneak skill had definitely been a wise decision. Unfortunately, the skill was less effective when utilized against players, and I was having trouble venturing deeper into the city.

So I was improvising, and now found myself perched on the rooftop of a building, eagerly gazing at the neighbouring rooftop. I had always been nervous of heights, never scared of them, but nervous, yes. It was natural, heights were a common cause of death, and it would be unsafe for someone to not be nervous of heights. I couldn't retreat now though, I was already in the city, and I desperately wanted to be able to listen to the meeting about the first floor boss. Even if it would be near impossible for me to contribute with my orange player status, I still wanted to learn everything I could. Knowledge was power, and power was survival in this crazed death game.

I took a few steps back from the edge of the wall, remembering a fond memory of when I was in my ninth year of school, and Matthew and I had gone through a free running phase, influenced by some French students. That phase had quickly ended with a broken wrist. It was a good thing broken bones healed instantly in SAO.

I dug my feet into my leather boots, which in turn dug into the ground, and pushed off the surface of the roof. In three strong strides I had reached the edge of the roof, and placing my right foot firmly in front, I pushed off as hard as my leg muscles would allow me, and with as much strength as the SAO system allowed. My acrobatics perk kicked in, and I felt myself thrusting further than I could have in real life. Not much further, but it was definitely further than I'd ever jumped in the real world.

My feet flailed in the air, while my arms flapped around uselessly. Adrenaline pumped through my body, and I felt time slow as I reached the vertex of my jump. The ground below, which was suddenly so very far away, began tumbling towards me. My heart began pounding, my brain thought nothing, I lost control of my limbs, and then suddenly I was crashing into a rough surface. It wasn't the footpath below thankfully, but the neighbouring rooftop. My feet gave way as soon as I came into contact with the surface, and I tumbled onto the roof, receiving several shocks of SAO induced pain.

I lay on the ground, looking up at the now dark sky, stars flickering into view, the moon stealthily rising from the horizon. I had made the jump, I thought while grinning, I had made it easily. I tried to stand up, but my legs were too giddy and I collapsed again. I began massaging my calves, eager to get moving. The meeting started in thirty minutes and I did not want to be late.

Five minutes later I stood up with newfound confidence and solid legs. I searched for my next target, and found another neighbouring building that was slightly shorter than my current roof. Without hesitating I ran in that direction at full speed, and again, shot off of my right foot into the sky like a cannon.

I screamed in ecstasy at the feeling, before having the sense to shut myself up. I was trying to be stealthy, not promote myself as a fool.

I began running at a consistent speed, hopping the small gaps between buildings that lay against alleys, while having to use full-fledged jumps to traverse some of the larger gaps. Often times I jumped directly over players, but not once was I observed. With all the background noise in the city, my footsteps were lithe and unnoticeable.

People tend not to look up either. I forget where I had heard that phrase, but it was very true, even for me. I only ever decided to look up when I was actively thinking about that advice, and that was not very often.

Not a single player looked up though. None of them were fascinated in the constellations that the stars made in this strange world, or the almost full moon that was radiating a white glow. They stared dimly at the ground in front of their feet, often with depressed and angry faces. They were the players that refused to accept this world.

All they had to do was look up, I thought angrily, and they would see a beautiful image that would be hard to compare to any place in the real world. Sure, the real world was incredible, and even I had feelings of nostalgia for it, but players had to learn to accept this world. They had to raise their heads from the dusty, dirt-worn ground, and look proudly around themselves, and make the most of this situation as they could.

But if they did look up at this very moment, they would see me jumping from roof to roof in a flowing black cloak, very much resembling certain super heroes. Deciding I didn't want to be seen at this instant, I chose to save my complaints and lectures for another day.

All too soon I was on a rooftop that surrounded the auditorium, the location where the meeting was to take place. There was still time before the meeting began, but the theatre was flowing with players. There looked to about fifty players who were taking the game seriously, and they could be detected by their unique swords, and comfortable, but not so fashionable, clothes. There were probably about another 200 players who were still dressed in their scraggy clothes they had received at the beginning of the game. Some of them looked slightly better off than other, but it was clear that they were not here to fight a floor boss. They were just bored, and viewed this meeting as a form of entertainment.

I made sure my black cloak was wrapped tightly around myself and covering my features before I lowered myself to the ground. I crept away from the edge of the roof, so I was completely out of everyone's view. Although this meant I was unable to see anyone, it meant that no one would be able to see me. Fortunately I was still able to hear what was being said below.

I lay there for a few minutes, waiting for the meeting to begin. To pass the time I attempted to listen to conversations that the gathered players were having. I could hear a large group of guys playing royalty with a stuck-up girl, who was being treated like a queen. There was an argument between two players about whether a shield was a useful battle tool or not. I could hear one rather loud player acting as a merchant, attempting to sell powerful weapons he had discovered to players. It seemed he was currently in an argument with a deep voiced player who was calling the merchant's weapons a scam, and that there were no such things as incredibly strong weapons after only three weeks of playing. I found myself agreeing with that deep voice.

The voices began to fade away until the theatre was silent. There was a comfortable pause as the sound of players rearranging themselves and shuffling feet could be heard. Then a loud hammering noise could be heard, and it took me a while to realize that it very well could have been an actual hammer. After three loud, ricocheting pounds, a voice rose up.

"Hey mates, good to see you all here. I didn't expect such a big turnout. It's more crowded then Bondi beach on a Saturday afternoon."

This caused a wave of laughter throughout the crowd, and any nervous tensions that players had been harbouring dissolved. Whether the speaker had done that purposely or accidently was unknown, but he had left himself with a positive first opinion, and as they say, first impressions are lasting impressions. This man had left himself in a very good position.

The man's face grew serious. "I'm sure you all know why you're here, and if you're not sure, you should probably leave." He paused, waiting for players to leave, but none did. It was as I expected, players would not leave a potential source of entertainment just because someone told them so.

"Leave, as in now!" His voice wasn't raised in anger, but a note of irritation had slipt in. I stared in surprise at the stars as I heard the sound of many players shuffling their feet towards an exit. Curious as to whom this man was who could control the crowds, I crept forwards from the roof, and perched my head along the edge so I had a view of the auditorium.

The man who was speaking was standing on the raised theatrical platform, one hand leaning on his hip, while his other brandished a large, but one handed, hammer, which explained the source of the hammering noise earlier. He had a large shield on his back, which despite being imposing, was far less impressive then Martin's shield. The man had chain mail armour running down his body, with leather greaves that were studded with steel. His face was devoid of a helmet, and once could see the messy, long blond hair that ran down his face, reaching his shoulders. Although it was difficult to tell from my distance from him, he appeared to be older then me, probably in his late twenties.

I glanced at the gathered crowd and could pick out a few players I recognized. I saw Martin standing proudly in his full metal armour holding his glorious scutum shield. Surrounding him were several players that appeared to be in his party, probably some of his friends he had mentioned to me before.

I discovered Rhythm leaning against a pillar at the back of the theatre, absent his usual black cloak. He didn't seem to be alone however, as he kept glancing to several other players who seemed to be solo players as well. Knowing Rhythm as well as I did however, I knew that they were not solo players, but would have instead been in a large party with Rhythm, choosing to simply keep that fact a secret.

A flash of red could be seen in the midst of a group of male players, who appeared to be trying to flatter her and guard her at the same time. I groaned as I realized that the red flash was no other then the player Red. She looked irritated at the constant attention the men were giving her, which gave me some satisfaction. The satisfaction was short lived however, when I realized the implications of what could happen to me tonight if I were to be discovered by her.

The man with the hammer didn't speak again until the sound of shuffling feet had left the auditorium and was replaced with silence.

"My name is Ricochet, and it's bloody good to see you players here." So his name was Ricochet? I hadn't heard about him before, but considering my circumstances as an orange player, that was not too surprising. Most players in the crowd seemed to recognize him however. It seemed that at this point in time, Ricochet was the "Leader" in this world. It was intriguing to realize that someone could take such a position in less then a month. I presumed that he was the highest levelled player there, as most players would probably be unwilling to follow a weaker player then themselves.

"It's good to see players who are actually fighting this game." A few people in the crowd cheered while others looked a bit irritated at this statement, as if he had insulted them and their friends. "It's not that I detest players who don't fight against this game, it's just that if we all remain as stagnant as them, we will never advance."

"We need to advance" He raised his hammer as he said this, and brought it down on a stone podium that was standing beside him. The loud crashing noise accentuated his point, and the crowd cheered again.

I frowned however, his speech bothering me. He was talking about fighting the game as if it was the enemy. The game wasn't our enemy anymore then gravity, physics or potential energy was our enemy in the real world. The game simply allowed the world we were living in to operate. If there were an enemy we needed to fight against it would be the monsters that occupied the plains and the floor bosses. To fight against this game would drain one of the experiences of being able to enjoy the world. To live in this world for what would appear to be over a year, and not enjoy any of it, but simply fight, and fight, and fight would be exhausting.

It would be inhumane. Humans aren't programmed solely to fight. We're made to be curious, to appreciate the beauty in everything we see, and to want to understand and exist with what we discover. We shouldn't be fighting this game, we should be living with it. Living the game out until the end.

But the crowd vehemently agreed with Ricochet, who was gaining more and more momentum. I sighed, and realized that even if our views clashed, Ricochet was accomplishing what needed to be done. He was building an army to defeat the first floor boss.

"Humans adapt, and just like the hammer in my hand, we will build for ourselves what others cannot imagine. We will build ourselves, train ourselves and defeat this system."

"And how will we fight the system, you may ask? We will fight just the way the system wants us to, we will beat it at its own game. Although it will be a long journey, it begins how any good journey begins, with a footstep. That footstep is to fight the first floors boss."

There was less cheering at this point, and the nervousness of players could be felt again. Almost everyone in this theatre would have known someone that had died in this world. Death was common in this game, and was very, very real. To fight a floor boss would almost definitely mean that causalities would occur.

Ricochet was speaking again, trying to regain some of his momentum that he'd lost. "I understand that you're nervous. You're scared of dying. Everyone is scared of dying. If we weren't scared of dying we wouldn't be trying to escape this game, but simply jumping off of edges."

A few players gasped at this. I guess some memories, horrible memories, were still fresh in their heads.

"We must not fall down that path, and we must lead other's away from that path and let them survive. We must fight, so that everyone else can survive. We must fight so we can survive."

"We fight for survival."

And the crowd cheered again. Loud whistling could be heard from several players, and some had drawn their weapons and were raising them to the sky.

"Idiots," I muttered.

"If you wish to fight with me, rise up, and come up to the stage with me! We will show this world that Australia will not meekly hide and cower in terror. With a hammer in our hands, we will build our way out of here, one brick at a time."

Then the chanting began. It was just one sole voice at the beginning, repeating the phrase several times. Then his party joined in, and a solid beat was felt for each word that was stated. Surrounding players began to chant, stamping their feet on the ground, or clashing the swords against their shields when each word was spoken. The auditorium became a room full of mindless players who eerily looked like they had become a group of NPC's. The chanting didn't stop, it just got louder and louder, and soon the chant was audible throughout "Starting City". Ricochet just stood on stage smiling like a surfer did when they caught the perfect wave, and realized they were riding it perfectly. He smiled as players began to walk up the stage and shake his hand, promising that they would help in the fight. All the while the chanting continued.

"We will build!"

"We will build!"

"We will build!"

* * *

After a considerable length of time, about forty players had gathered with Ricochet on the stage, including Rhythm and Martin. Red was the last player to walk up the steps, and when I saw the determined look on her face, I inwardly groaned, she was about to do something I would not like. I just knew it.

"Excuse me Ricochet," She said in a sweet voice, which although not loud, was spoken with a tone that caused all players to listen to her. "I have a favour to ask of you before I join your ah… army"

"Please, don't call it an army, I detest that word." Red nodded, but the look on her face said that she didn't believe it was anything but an army. "Well, ask away."

"If anyone is to see the orange player named Sirius, I wish for them to inform me immediately. He is a dangerous bloodthirsty murderer who has killed at least twice already." I sighed, she really did have it in for me. Shame, she really was a rather striking figure.

Ricochet put his hand up to his face, thinking about something. His eyes seemed to light up, as if he were a mischievous child planning a prank.

"Pray lass, what does this serious player look like."

"He's not a serious player, he is "Sirius". He is the player in which that labelling was derived from." She stopped to take a breath. Just talking about me seemed to make her flustered. I shifted my body slightly as I lay on the roof, my stomach tired from being in the same position for such a period of time.

"He's tall, at least 6'2, short blond hair, with gray eyes." So she remembered the colour of my eyes did she? If the situation were any other than this, I could have believed that she had a crush on me.

Ricochet blinked once, as if something Red had said confused him. Gradually he began to turn his body to directly face Red. "You're not talking about him are you," he said slowly, and in an even more exaggerated movement he raised his hand holding his hammer until the tip of the weapon was pointing directly at me.

"Ah shit!" I said out loud. My cover had been blown.

* * *

**Read and enjoy. Hopefully the stories not getting too monotonous.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	16. Pursuit

I froze in place as Ricochet's raised hammer pointed at me. The silent wind pushed against my cloak, which had somehow been unable to conceal my identity. How had Ricochet been able to spot me? When had he spotted me? Had he know I was atop this three-story building all along?

Red's eyes followed the path of the pointed hammer, until our gazes met.

"Ah shit!" I swore, while scrambling to my feet in a panic, eager to flee from the red demon that was being awoken.

"Chase him," came Red's frantic cry. As players began to notice my freestyle running across the buildings surrounding the amphitheatre, they discovered my orange player status, and became riled up. Far too soon I heard the pounding of feet below the rooftops I was running across recklessly. I was fortunately faster than most of them even though I was forced to slow down to climb up particularly tall sections, jump over wide gaps between buildings or roll when the drops were too great.

I noticed grimly that Red had no trouble keeping pace with me. She ran down alley after alley, taking abrupt turns when I leapt over gaps between the houses. Twice I jumped directly over her, but she took it in good stead, and simply altered her path so she could follow me.

I scrambled across the unkempt rooftops, stumbling over uneven surfaces, desperate to evade my pursuer. I felt like a snow hare being chased by a lynx. I kept running, pushing myself to my limits, daring to take riskier jumps that I sometimes only barely made. It was with relief that I realized Red seemed to have no motivation to find a way up to the rooftops. She seemed to be content with chasing me from ground level. Perhaps she was worried about losing track of me in the precious time she would have spent climbing up.

I didn't feel comfortable with that explanation though, and deciding I'd felt bare for long enough tonight, I warped my beloved broadsword into existence, relishing the familiar weight on my back. Now I was prepared for anything.

Red still didn't seem occupied with trying to reach me however, she only seemed to be watching me, running beside, but below me. When I had slowed down to equip my blade, she had slowed down as well to stay beside me. It was if she was worried that I would jump down from the roof for some reason, and she was ready to trap me when I did. But for what good reason could I possibly have to leave the safety of the rooftops for the threatening alleys that Red occupied? It was only if someone were on the rooftops with me would I even consider leaving-

Instinct caused me to pull my two handed sword off my back and swing it behind me. It wasn't as if I had known something was there, just that the thoughts running through my head were giving me fair warning. As Rhythm often told me, I was a very rational thinker, and it was this thinking that had previously saved my life several times in this new world.

Again, my rational instincts were not wrong, and my blade met resistance as it swung around my body. It was solid resistance too, not something flimsy like an opposing blade, but something heavy like a shield. I didn't bother to look behind me yet, as I was still running, and there was a jump ahead of me.

I pushed off, and as I was in the air, I craned my neck behind me, and saw an incoming hammer to my exposed back. I swung my broadsword behind my shoulders, almost as if I was sheathing it, and formed a weak shield protecting my exposed spine. I felt the hammer blow slam into my sword, and the impact passed through into my chest. Although I lost no health because this was a safe zone, I realized that in an actual battle I would have lost about a quarter of my health from that blow.

My feet hit the ground hard, and I stumbled for the first few steps, but then exploded into a dynamic sprint. I couldn't fight and make a stand inside a city. It was not quite a death warrant for me to fight in a safe zone, but it wouldn't aid me, and only slow me down, allowing others to deduce a plan to dispose of me.

I heard pounding steps beside mine, and fell to the ground rolling as a shield swung above my head. I pushed myself back into a running stance with ease, and prepared myself for a sharp turn and a long jump. I had to avoid this player who was chasing me to such extremes.

While I was in midair, the player assaulted me again with his hammer. I lashed out with my blade, and this time our blows met each other on equal terms. I noticed Red below me gaping as she watched a duel, albeit a technically friendly duel, occurring as two players flew through the sky above her.

I landed, swinging my blade around me legs in an attempt to trip the player. He lithely hopped over the blade, and brought down his hammer, which I avoided by pushing backwards on my feet. We were finally both stationary, even if it was for a moment, and I could clearly see who my predator was.

It was Ricochet.

It appeared the current leader of the SAO world was not in the least weak or useless. He was incredibly resourceful and spontaneous, able to reach the rooftops and pursue me with apparent ease. I did not wish to fight him right now, as I was honestly worried about how high his level could be. I did not want to lose another battle, especially after losing to Red thirteen days ago.

I twisted gracefully away from Ricochet, legs pumping as I tore across the roof blindly heading to the edge. I jumped, my heart in my mouth as I prayed that there would be more roof below me. My prayers were answer several adrenaline packed seconds later as I hit a low rise roof. I rolled into the impact and paused momentarily before pushing myself up and continuing to sprint as fast as I could.

Ricochet was not easily deterred unfortunately, and before I was able to make a second jump a hammer blow had struck me in the back of my temple, leaving me dazed, confused, and on the ground. My eyes could barely focus on the blunt weapon as it began to swing down upon me. My brain was operating enough to allow me to roll out of the way clumsily. I weakly picked myself off the ground, but had to dig my broadsword into the ground for support. My legs felt like they were going to give out on me, and me knees were knocking together at the rate of a machine gun.

I could barely react as Ricochet's hammer smashed into my steel sword, and my beloved partner was bent out of commission. The broadsword was bent at the hilt almost at a 90-degree angle, and was now absolutely useless in a battle. I didn't even know if damage this extreme was repairable.

I abandoned my sword, choosing my life over the lump of metal and began running in the other direction. My legs failed me however, and I collapsed to my knees while my ringing head caused stabs of pain throughout my body. Damn painful SAO system.

At least I couldn't die, I was still in a safe zone, the most Ricochet would be able to do is torture me. Or throw me to a group of raging NPC guards who were out for criminal blood. Which would be my blood in this case. My heart rate began pounding faster as I realized I very well could die. Unfortunately I could do nothing but wait for another powerful blunt blow to my head.

As my eyes began to be able to focus again I realized that the blow was not going to occur. My head began to repair the blurry image in front of me, and I saw an outstretched rugged hand reaching out, its owner smiling at me.

"My names Ricochet, please to meet you Sirius."

I blinked, wondering if my brain had received mental damage from the beating it had just acquired. I quickly realized that the simple act of thinking about mental damage meant my brain was probably perfectly fine, so I abandoned my attempt of persuading myself into self succumbing madness, and instead formed as logical of a response as my ringing head would allow me.

"Pleased to…hammer you… ricky…"

He gave a brief barking laughing. "Give it a minute mate, it doesn't last forever."

I massaged my head gently as logic and immersion rushed back to my mind, and after a few minutes I was almost as good as new. Almost, I didn't know if I'd ever be the same as what I once was after being hit by a hammer.

Finally I recovered enough to speak. "What do you want Ricochet? You don't seem too keen on turning me in for my crimes." I said, with a hint of bitterness in my voice. The past thirteen days had caused me to distrust players greatly, and my tone unfortunately instinctively relayed that

"What I want and what I'm trying to do are two very different things" Ricochet replied, before bending down on his knees, resting his weight on the toes of his feet. "What I want is for you to join me in my fight, what I'm trying to do is to persuade you." He said this with a hint of amusement in his voice, and although the voice sounded pleasing, I was still wary of the snakebite that was sure to come. "Persuading you through physical violence, that is."

"And how do you plan to do get me to join you? I'm an orange player remember, a "serious player", no one will trust me to fight with them. They'll be too busy trying to extract judgment on me. I've had this curse for thirteen days already, and it doesn't look like it's going away anywhere anytime soon."

Ricochet gave a brief laugh while he swung his hammer around in circles in his hand. "So, the only thing holding you back is your player marker?" He said in the same mischievous tone that had laced his voice when he had compromised my position earlier. Something in his tone told me he was planning something manipulative.

The player marker was not the only reason I didn't want to join him. I didn't feel comfortable with the way that he had described his fight against the system, and I did not want to get dragged into that kind of war. I wanted to enjoy my time here, not spend it in a mindless blood rage, slaving to kill monsters. Of course, I didn't want to live here forever, but that didn't mean my time here had to be unenjoyable.

I didn't want to insult Ricochet though, especially after his apparent act of mercy, so I simply nodded my head and responded. "Yeah, that's all."

Ricochet smiled, looking like a hunter who had just trapped a rabbit in a snare. I felt a strangely like that rabbit in this scenario. "How 'bout I get rid of your player status then, and in return, you fight for me," he said.

At first I was furious that a player had managed to place me into a situation like this, but then I was also ecstatic over the thought that someone knew how to remove my orange player status. I would give anything to be rid of that curse, and Ricochet seemed to realize this too.

"I won't promise to fight with you forever, only for this floor," I said.

"We'll see," was the only response I received, other then a sly grin. Ricochet began navigating through his menu, and before long a small vial had spawned in his hands. He handed it over to me.

"Drink this, and then sleep. When you wake up, you'll discover that the orange player marker will have changed to green."

I gaped at him as my mind tried to comprehend this ridiculously easy process to remove my criminal status. If it were this easy, mass murdering criminals would be having a field day in the upcoming year.

"Are you sure?" I asked, trying to convince myself not to trust this medicine that seemed as reliable as satanic rituals and pagan blessings. The temptation to believe was growing too big however, and before I could stop myself I had reached over and accepted the vial.

"Trust me," Ricochet said. "This potion was in the beta, all beta players know about this."

"So you're a beta player?"

"I didn't necessarily say that now, did I." it wasn't a question, and it was clear he was not going to answer mine.

I uncorked the potion by selecting the "Uncork" option, and drank its contents. It had a faint lemon taste to it, and I found myself enjoying the anti-criminalizing drink. How strange that such a potion would taste so good.

"When you wake up tomorrow morning without your criminal status, come back to the auditorium. Those who dare to fight the first floor boss shall meet there, exchange information about our upcoming enemy, and then we shall march to the arena."

"Arena?"

"The location where the first floor boss is. After we defeat it the path to the second floor will be unlocked, and we shall have taken our first step in this war."

"If you're going to call it a war, then Red's right, the people that you've collected are an army." I felt like protecting Red for some reason. Even if she'd threatened me, hunted me down, assaulted me and announced my criminal status, I agreed with how she felt about Ricochet's collection of players. They were a personal army made to fight a war that didn't have to exist. How long would it be before the army would be fighting more then just the SAO system?

Ricochet didn't like my comment, and his dark eyes narrowed in frustration as he stared at me. "They're not an army, and they never will be. They shall be know as "The Builders". I should clarify what I said. What we are doing is not waging war, but instead we are building our way out of this prison."

"Perhaps you need to reconsider your view of this place as a prison. A different point of view never hurt anyone."

"Don't make me angry Sirius, or I won't let you leave here alive."

That shut me up. I was still outlevelled, weaponless and in Ricochets mercy, so I decided to simply play along for now. I could argue my point another day if I still felt that it would be necessary.

"Sorry…" I muttered, not really sounding sorry, but Ricochet seemed to accept the half-apology.

"I'll stop chasing you from here on, but I can't say the same for the others. I'll distract Red for a few minutes to give you time to make your escape. Remember, I except to see you tomorrow at the auditorium."

"And what if I get caught?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

Ricochet didn't smile back. "Then I overestimated you." He turned around and began to walk away. Before he reached the edge of the roof, I called out to him.

"Hey Ricochet"

"Yeah mate?"

"Drop the "the". Just "Builders"."

"Shit," he said softly, shaking his head in amazement before he disappeared from view.

* * *

My feet tore against the grassy plain lands as I sprinted in the opposite direction of "Starting City". I was eager to put as much distance as I could between my pursuers, namely Red, and myself. Although I was uncertain as to how strong the other players that I had seen were, I was confident that I was stronger then all of them barring Red, Rhythm and Ricochet.

I was not confident however, of fighting multiple experienced players with nothing but a bent broadsword. I had decided to purchase a new weapon before I left "Starting City", but all the shops had already been closed for the night. Tonight, I was defenceless.

It was fortunate that I had left the city without encountering any other players after Ricochet. My "Hiding" skill had been high enough that I could hide from the NPC guards, and I had been able to slip through the North Gate with ease. I had been running in relief for the past hour, glad that the worse of tonight was over. I had escape "Starting City" successfully.

I arrived home just after 10 pm, and was greeted quietly by Grandpa, who informed me that Lily was sleeping, and to try not to wake her.

I blinked after I absorbed this information. When had I begun to call this cabin on the hill home? When had I grown emotionally attached to these NPC's, and started calling them my family? I shook my head, too exhausted to ponder my probable emotional instability. I thanked grandpa; I mean, the grizzled old man, and collapsed on my bed.

My bed, not anyone else's, but mine. It was a bed that had been handcrafted specifically for me by the old man. I glanced at my wrist and played with the wooden bracelet around my wrist that Lily had given me. She was such a sweet little sister.

I mentally slapped myself, reminding myself that these were NPC's, and not sentient players. I had to convince myself of that. I absolutely could not convince myself that these pieces of electronic data were family. As much as I wanted to, I could not.

Hoping things would make more sense in the morning I closed my eyes, and let the game simulate sleep for me.

* * *

The fire crackled by my feet, and I felt the wood on my back begin to heat up. Rough splinters from the wood tore into my raw skin, tearing threads of flesh off as I squirmed in the shackles that bound my hands and feet. The black smoke that arose from the crackling fire burned my eyes, causing them to tear up and my vision to blur.

A distorted figure walked up to me in the haze, a bucket trailing along the ground beside them. Each step was so large and confident, but it seemed to take a lifetime for the figure to reach me. All the while the fire was building, growing, burning.

Through the tears in my eyes I recognized the figure. "Becka," I stuttered, "Help me, please."

Her eyes held pity in them, and with a gentle smile she poured the contents of the bucket on the fire. I sighed in relief that she was helping me, saving me even.

But then I started screaming in pain as the fire rocketed up around me, licking my skin and tearing at my sanity. Becka began laughing as she poured more of the flammable liquid on the fire. The fire raged and screamed as it whirled around me, whipping me with tendrils of heat. Becka's maniacal grin mocked me through the searing flames.

I began to hear noises above the screaming of the fire. It sounded like chanting, and as I strained my blood smeared eyes, I could see that an army of players surrounded me. They had shields and swords and were rattling them together as they continued their chant.

"Build! Build! Build! Build!"

A single player walked through the crowd, which appeared to be oblivious to his presence. He stalked towards me, his piercing eyes never leaving mine. He walked into the raging fire that I was caught within, and he smiled as the fire began searing his own body, tearing off his clothes, blackening his skin.

"Hell doesn't burn half as much as this," Daniel muttered gleefully in my ear. He grabbed my shoulders in his hands, and I screamed at the pain that assaulted my body from the physical touch. Daniel laughed, his facial features melting in the fire, his face distorting. He pulled my shoulders down, and I felt myself sinking closer and closer to the source of the fire.

"Let me show you what hell feels like," he said, and the flames engulfed me completely as I heard the chanting of the crowd grow louder, and louder, and louder.

My eyes split open as a large figure grabbing my shoulders with two powerful, callused hands, began shaking me awake. My nightmare began to disappear. The fire wasn't burning me anymore, and the heat in my body began to fade. The chanting of the crowd was taking longer to fade however, the loud, consistent rumbling noise was still ringing in my ears, and shaking the wooden bed.

"Wake up," I heard the grizzled old man shout at me, raising his voice to be heard over the screaming crowd. I blinked, trying to process what was going on? In my delirious state it seemed that the chanting crowd actually existed, and that they were outside the wooden cabin. But why would anyone be here at this time of night?

"Grandson, wake up! They're coming for you."

* * *

**So I might be getting a bit out of canon with the AI's, but I decided I wanted to give them a bit of bigger role in the story. Besides, it's no fun writing if I don't get to create anything new, hehe.**

**Once again I hope the stories not dragging on too long, and I hope you guys and gals keep reading.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	17. Flames and Fire

"Grandson, wake up! They're coming for you."

The flicker of torchlight could be glimpsed through the windows of the small log cabin as the old man pulled me off of the hard wooden bed he had once constructed for me. I'm not a morning person, so I'm definitely not a one in the morning person. Therefore, my mind wasn't working fast enough to figure out what was going on.

"Did you just call me grandson?" I mumbled, trying to get my lips to work properly. The old man either refused to answer me, or could not hear me over the sound of shouting. My thoughts started to click back into motion as I begun putting pieces together. The flickering lights and the angry shouting could mean several things, such as an impromptu quest, but I had a gnawing feeling that it was something worse.

"With me, boy, with me," said the old man who had acted so much like a stern, but gentle grandfather over the past two weeks. I followed him out of my small bedroom he had so generously supplied me with a week ago into the living room. Lily stumbled out of her room, worry evident on her face. Was it real worry, I thought to myself, or just an advanced program depicting what my representation of worry was. I shook my head viciously. Now was not the time to ponder this. I had to figure out what the hell was going on.

I walked to a nearby window and pulled back the flimsy cloth that operated as a curtain. I was shocked to see a crowd of at least thirty players surrounding the cabin, all armed with fire and steel, a dangerous combination around a wooden cabin. The notorious green player markers above each avatars head assured me that these were indeed players, and not NPC's.

I had no cause to ponder what their reason for being here was; their chanting convinced me quite thoroughly of their cause.

"Find the traitor. Burn him down. Cut him up. Take his life"

I stepped back slowly from the window and glanced at the occupants of the cabin. The old man was trying to soothe Lily, who had begun to cry in fear. I felt anger at the violent players outside for frightening her. Instincts were kicking in, and I felt a strange urge to protect her, even if she was only an NPC.

The chanting outside died down both suddenly and unexpectedly. There was only a brief respite of silence however, before a familiar and repulsive voice was heard.

"Exit the building immediately Sirius, or we will burn it down!" I swore as I realized that Red was leading this riot. Her voice was clear and strong, holding no tone of hesitation. Excluding Red, it was possible to run away from the other players. I was faster than all of them, but Red had kept up with me during my rooftop escape, so she could easily keep up with me if I fled into the forest. The only thought that comforted me was that buildings were indestructible. Almost every player in the game had at one time or another attempted to destroy part of "Starting City".

I didn't respond to Red's threat, preferring to just remain silent until they gave up. I walked over to Lily who was still sobbing and knelt down to hug her. She wrapped her small arms around my chest and held onto me as tears flooded down her face. I once again pondered the situation. Were the tears real? I was beginning to confuse reality and artificial intelligence, and although a small part of my mind warned me against this, the rest of me couldn't seem to care less. A crying girl was a crying girl, and if I could help her in anyway, then I'd be damned if I didn't do anything.

Her sobbing slowed down to a hiccup as I continued to hold her. She let go of my chest, grabbed my wrist instead, and began playing with the small bracelet she had made for me. A small smile begun to play on her lips, and I felt confident that she would be fine. My confidence in the outside situation was not as positive however. The room was definitely becoming hotter, and I couldn't tell if it was my imagination or not, but the wooden pillars that the house was composed of seemed to be burning.

The old man pushed a chair over towards the fireplace, and stood upon it. With his increase height he was able to reach the decorated sword that hung above the fireplace, a trophy of his past. He wrenched it off of its stand with a tremendous crack, and I was momentarily worried that he had snapped the blade. It was fine however, and the old man stepped off of the chair with the large ornate broadsword.

A cracking sound that was infinitely louder then the previous one echoed within the cabin. My head snapped around to discover the source, and my heart plummeted when I discovered that the window was broken. Glass shattered the ground, and the thin ragged curtain was blowing in the wind. Seconds later the whole window component shattered into pixelated colours and twinkled away.

The cabin wasn't an immortal object. Countless possibilities ran through my head. Was it that it was made of wood? Was fire able to destroy any wooden objects, regardless of mortality status? Or was it because we were outside of a safe zone? I would be able to experiment later and discover the reason, but currently there was a bigger, life-threatening problem.

They could break in.

The cabin wasn't safe anymore. I couldn't fight as my sword was bent, and I couldn't run as Red could chase me down. I couldn't flee, I couldn't fight, I couldn't defend. What else could I do? I refused to let the panic that was threatening to consume me to control my actions, but it was a difficult battle.

Another window shattered, and glass shattered towards Lily. I leapt in front of her, unsure of the characteristics of broken glass, whether it would injure or not, but I was unwilling to take any chances. The glass ripped through my cloak, but otherwise I was unharmed. Lily was also safe, but she looked incredibly scared. Her whole body was shaking

"Grandpa… Help us," she said to the old man who was little more than programmed data. That didn't make the scene any less emotional however, as the old man walked over to her and picked her up in a large bear hug. He held her close for several seconds, and it was only the ear shattering cracking of wood that forced him to release his beloved granddaughter.

He then turned to me and begun saying something. The mob outside was screaming so loud that he had to shout so I could hear him.

"Take Lily and run!"

Part of me wondered why he had called his granddaughter by the pseudo name I had made for her, but I was preoccupied by more important details.

"I can't," I screamed back. "They'll catch us."

"No they won't, I'll make sure of that," the old man shouted back.

"You can't, you'll die! You can't fight that many players."

He gave me a sad smile, but his eyes held no regret. "I wasn't planning to survive." I blinked, overcome by emotion. He rested a hand on my shoulder and continued to talk. "One day you'll understand that to sacrifice one's life for another is not a painful experience, but a glorious one. It is a death worthy of a veteran legion solider"

He grinned as I gaped at him. This old man was once a legion solider. All those stories that he told, they weren't made up. They were real. They had happened to him. I ignored the fact that the world of SAO had only existed for a month, and that this man had never truly existed before then. I ignored common sense, and instead allied myself with my emotions, which profoundly told me that this old man was alive, and that he was truly sacrificing something of utmost importance to him, his life.

"My arms are to weak, and my eyesight to poor to wield a legion sword honourably," the old man said, and he pushed his ornate broadsword into the palm of my hands. "Survive, my grandson, and if you cannot do that, then die honourably with a blade in your hands."

He had called me grandson, again. It didn't matter if I was adopted, or if he thought I was actually his grandson. I didn't care if it was a glitch in this system, or that he was just an NPC. I realized that this man, at this point in time, was truly my family.

My grandfather wrapped my fingers around the pommel of his blade. The black leather of the hilt melded into the grip or my hand, and I stared at the blade in adoration. The hilt guard was composed of two delicately carved silver lion heads on either side of the blade. The silver lions had their mouths open in a ferocious roar, threatening all those who dared cross blades with it. The blade itself was made of lustrous steel, and was half a foot longer then my previous broadsword, almost reaching the length of a claymore. It was a beautiful sword, and although I had once thought it was a decorated, flimsy sword, when I held it in my hands, I realized that it was a tool of death. The blade was heavy, especially when compared with my old sword, and I could feel that my strength stat was only just great enough to wield it. The extra weight didn't feel uncomfortable however; it felt natural, as if the sword was made for me.

I tore my eyes off the blade and stared into the eyes of the man who had looked after me the past two weeks, and would continue to protect me until the end of his life. His eyes were flashing with pride, as if he had waited all his life for this moment.

"Thankyou, Grandpa," I said, and before I could utter another word he pulled me into an encompassing bear hug. I couldn't breathe, so it was fortunate that the SAO world mostly ignored the importance of respiring. He let go of me, and unfortunately, the sounds of the world flooded back to me. The mob was still outside, and the room was now stifling hot.

The veteran legion solider walked proudly towards the front door, stopping only to pick up a ferocious looking woodcutting axe. It was primarily used for cutting wood, but tonight it would serve a more aggressive purpose just perfectly.

"Lily, follow your brother, he'll look after you from now." She began crying again, but didn't argue with him. She grabbed onto my hand instead and squeezed it with all the might that a nine year old child could muster. The front door shattered, and with a loud crack, disappeared from existence. Two players burst through the empty doorframe and slew their swords down upon the old man. He threw one of them to the side with his axe, and with his other hand threw the other player against the wall on the other side of the room. The player slammed into the wall with enough force to crumble part of the wood, and a sizeable hole was formed as chunks of wood disappeared in an array of glittering colours.

The old man smashed a third player into the ground with ease, and with a loud roar as ferocious as a lion he threw himself at the next enemy who just happened to be the strongest player in the riot, Red.

"Run!" Yelled the old man, and without a second thought I fled from the room through the newly created hole. The old man wouldn't be able to hold off Red forever, she was just too powerful. With his life he would provide as much time for us as possible, and I was not willing to waste a single one of those precious seconds. I crawled through the small hole before Lily and discovered, to my relief, only two players remaining at the back of the building. The rest were foolishly trying to enter through the front door. With my new blade in my hands I activated Ghost Rush, and accelerated towards the nearest player. The player was caught completely unaware, and although he managed to deflect some of the first strike with his buckler, the second strike of the sword skill tore through his armour, lowering his health instantly into the red.

I dropped to the ground as the other player swung his own broadsword at me. I rolled backwards, kicking myself up into a standing position and rushed my attacker. My first two slashes held enough power behind them to jolt the player when our blades collided, and he was thus unable to move his sword fast enough to defend against my third downward slash. The players' health only dropped into the low yellow, but he stopped fighting and begged for mercy. I kicked his sword out his hand, rendering him incapacitated in a fight. I sheathed my sword, ran back to pick up Lily who had only just crawled out the burning cabin, and fled.

I held Lily to my chest as I ran without direction, and I could feel her small hands gripping at the thin material that composed my shirt. I continued to run in any direction that was away from the burning cabin, and I kept running until the woods was silent, and the bloodcurdling screams could no longer be heard. I ran through the night, until I felt the heavy breathing of Lily and realized that she was asleep. Poor thing, she must be exhausted.

I stopped running and began walking while activating my "Hiding" skill in an effort to hide my trail. The bloodthirsty mob that had burned down the log cabin couldn't have discovered where I was in such a short time unless they had a tracker. I had been in a rush to leave "Starting City" as Red had been chasing me so I had not been carefully hiding my tracks. I would not make that mistake twice.

After walking for another ten minutes while hiding my tracks, I found and climbed up a nearby tree so any hungry animals wouldn't surprise me, and fell asleep with Lily in my arms. My sleep was filled with flashes of fire, and for the first time since SAO began, I slept without the nightmares of Daniel and Becka. They weren't pleasant dreams however, and when I woke up, I almost wished that I'd experiences one of my previous reoccurring nightmares.

The bright sunlight slipped through my closed eyelids, and I blinked them open in irritation. The first thing I noticed when I was semi-functional was that Lily was still in my arms, and that she was unscathed. I breathed a sigh of relief that she was safe, and said a few words to the heavens in hope that a veteran legion soldier may here them.

As I looked up at the sky, a most wondrous event occurred. The orange player marker that had been following me for the past 2 weeks changed into a green marker. I blinked in shock, and then I rubbed my eyes, convincing myself that I wasn't dreaming. Had the potion that Ricochet given me actually worked? I had thought that it would be a fraud, and for some strange reason, I still did, but I couldn't doubt the results I was seeing. I groaned as I realized that this meant I would have to fulfil my side of the promise and meet Ricochet again today.

With a solid weapon at my disposal I was less afraid of entering "Starting City" then I had been yesterday, but the child stirring in my lap was worrying me. I couldn't leave her alone, even if she was an NPC. Maybe because she was an NPC I shouldn't leave her alone. I didn't know how she would react to future events. What would happen if I moved to a new floor? Would she be able to come with me, or would her programming "break" her? How will other players react to an NPC following me?

Lily blinked her eyes lazily as she began to wake up. Her cheeks became a bit flushed when she discovered her sleeping position. Her deep brown eyes flickered before she gave a huge yawn.

"Morning big brother," she said with a shy grin on her face.

"Morning sleepy," I replied. I frowned for a bit as I decided to test a theory. "Hey Lily, don't call me big brother, call me Sirius instead. Big brother feels a bit too formal."

She frowned at me. "But aren't you my big brother?"

I sighed in exasperation and tried to figure out a way to make this work. My eyes lit up when I considered an alternate approach.

"Don't worry, I am your big brother, but "Sirius" means the same as big brother, so you can call me Sirius instead, alright?"

A smile lit up on her face. "I understand. Good morning Sirius"

I laughed and replied. "And good morning to you too Lily." I felt elated, my theory was right, and Lily had proven it perfectly. Lily was more than just an AI, or artificial intelligence. She was more like an advanced artificial intelligence, or AAI. She had the ability to learn.

The ability to learn was absolutely phenomenal. I had no idea how Kayaba Akihiko had possibly programmed this but it was incredible. It meant that Lily was more than just a piece of software in a game. She was as alive and real as any of the 10,000 players who lived or once lived in the world of SAO.

I wondered if there were any other AAI's in this world. The old man had definitely been one. He had changed from viewing me as a stranger to adopting me as his grandson. He had "learned" that I was part of his family. The interesting thing about this was that it opened up a world of possibilities within this world.

A regular RPG was directed by quests that were physically given to a player. Everything is clearly programmed, and at the end of the quest, the game master has clearly defined what the reward is. With the addition of AAI's in the world one would be able to help these AAI's and if they found favour in you, they would present you with a reward. No written quest, no pre-planned story, just real life adventuring.

It was how I had received the legion sword that was currently on my back. It had not been involved in any sort of quest, and it had been an immovable object that should not have been able to be removed from the wall. However, an AAI, in this case the old man, had learnt, and grown, and changed. Now, I was in possession of what was possibly the strongest sword on this floor, possibly the strongest sword for the next couple of floors.

Had Kayaba Akihiko planned this? I couldn't be sure. He had definitely created AAI's on purpose, but it was possible that not even he had realized that depth in which they would alter the gaming experience.

Lily interrupted my thinking by grabbing my cheeks and stretching them.

"Ehhh?" I managed.

"You weren't listening to me," she said stubbornly. I laughed as she pouted a bit.

"Sorry, what did you want to ask me?"

Her cheeks flushed pink again and she refused to respond. I was about to ask again before her stomach growled, a noise which was exaggerated in the world of SAO, just like most other emotions.

"Hungry are you?" I teased.

"Yes…" She said in a subdued voice.

"Alright then, let's go find some breakfast."

She cheered and climbed down the tree before I could stop her. I groaned at her energy. I was really not a morning person, and she clearly was. I dropped off the branch I was resting on and landed on the ground, crouching to absorb the impact.

I opened my inventory, selected my black cloak which had been torn from the broken window in the cabin, and un-equipped it. I spawned it in my hands, and let it loose, allowing it to flutter away in the wind. I would no longer need to hide my face, as I was no longer an orange player. I felt considerably lighter without the cloak, as if it had wrapped up my negative feelings and stolen away with them.

The sun shone down gently upon Lily and I as we began to walk away from the tree in search of breakfast. Lily excitedly ran here and there, back and forth, always full of energy, just like a child would in any other world. The sun shone down gently upon us as we made our way across the plains while fresh, crisp wind played against our skin. I allowed myself to relax unlike I had ever done in the past month and allowed a wide smile to stretch across my face, crinkling the corners of my eyes.

Perhaps this world wasn't so bad.

* * *

**I would love to a christmas special next chapter, what with it being christmas by that time, but the game simply hasn't progressed that far yet, so sorry everyone. I might think of something else to make the christmas feel flood through instead, try and keep you on your toes. I hope you keep reading either way though, and that you're enjoying this story as much as I am.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	18. Freedom?

I stood on the edge of a large rectangular area that had been cordoned off and I watched as two teams of six players fought each other for possession of a very peculiar object. The object had no hidden properties or special characteristics other than that it was incredibly sphere-like. It couldn't be equipped, and would be an incredibly useless weapon, if that much were even possible, yet two teams fought their heart out for it.

Half of the audience stood up when one of the players kicked the ever peculiar object with as much strength as the SAO system would allow him to muster. The object sailed through an incredibly rickety looking 6 meter by 2 and a half meter door frame. The audience that was standing began screaming and cheering as the team that had just kicked the sphere like object through a door frame began jumping on to of each other and celebrating with what could only be described as a foreign ritual dance.

Yes, the players of SAO had successfully created a game within a game. They were playing a game of soccer, or football, depending on what part of the world you were from before you had moved to Melbourne. I was trying to teach Lily the rules of the game, as she had been incredibly interested in what all of the commotion had been about, but the concept of a game where a bunch of players chased a round ball around with their feet like a bunch of overexcited puppies was difficult for her to comprehend.

That didn't mean she didn't enjoy herself though. She had been cheering as loud as any of the other players watching, and by the end of the game she had even begun to recognize such things as the ball going out, throw ins, penalty shootouts, and goals. I was dreading trying to explain offside to her however. Only the bloody English would come up with a rule like that.

I marvelled at how much Lily was able to learn. I had previously been worried that what she might be able to pick up would be limited to in game topics, but the fact that she was able to learn about something as foreign to the world of SAO as soccer clearly displayed a high level of intelligence. She had received a few peculiar looks from players, most wondering why such a young girl was in the world of SAO, especially when the age limit was 6 years her age. These people were rather unobservant however, as they obviously had not noticed the absence of a player marker above her head.

Not everyone in SAO was dim witted though, this soccer game was an excellent example of a genius at work. A player named Arsenal had acquired an object that was shaped almost perfectly like a soccer ball (or a basketball, depending on what kind of sport you're thinking about). The ball didn't have quite the same kind of bounce as a real soccer ball, but it had been close enough for him to start a business.

Parties could enter themselves in for a game at the cost of 1000 col, enough col to pay for cheap rent for a week on the first floor. The two teams would play, and the winner would receive 1,500 col, with Arsenal keeping the excess. He dug for even more oil however, and charged players 50 col (Enough for a loaf of rye bread) to watch the matches. The business had boomed even more then Arsenal had imagined, and he now has his own staff that he pays to help manage things. A true business indeed.

There are opportunists in every world, and SAO is no exception. Arsenal managed to get himself into the market of soccer before anyone else could discover where he had obtained his makeshift soccer ball. By the time a player had discovered the secret, Arsenal was too well known, and any attempt to create an opposing soccer company was seen in disdain.

In my personal opinion, there are probably more intelligent people in the world of SAO then there are dim witted people. Although I have a multitude of theories as to why that is, none of them are provable, so I choose to ignore it for now.

The crowd began to disperse as a result of the end of the game and Lily and I made our move as well. Earlier, I had received a message from Rhythm asking if we could meet, saying that he had important information.

The information was probably about the upcoming boss raid. If Ricochet was truthful in his statement last night, he planned to attack today, and I was certain Rhythm would be eager to join the fight.

As I left the stadium a few players began pointing at my 6'4 figure and began talking quietly. All too soon a large group of players could be spotted heading towards me with a direct purpose. I groaned as I realized that players could still combine the wanted posters with my persona.

Before the players begun something too drastic I swept Lily up in my hands and sprinted down a nearby alley. The sound of pursuit was behind me but I was by far faster and after several minutes of running I had clearly lost my followers. Just to ensure I would not be discovered again I activating my hiding skill and hid my tracks as I ventured my way to the meeting spot.

I entered a small café, Lily close to my right, and spotted the familiar black cloak of Rhythm.

"Nice cloak," I said

"Yes," Rhythm drawled lazily, "They do tell me that." Although he was trying not to laugh there was a hint of a smile playing on his face.

"Why does this man have your cloak Sirius?" asked Lily, confusion crinkling the features of her face.

I laughed, amused at her question, but secretly proud of her thirst for knowledge. The more she'd ask why, the more she'd be able to learn.

"That man doesn't have Sirius's cloak, he has the same kind of cloak as Sirius. Understand."

She blinked a bit, as she always did when she was absorbing new information, before smiling. "Yes, I understand, same cloak, different people."

"Close enough"

"Sirius, who is this?" Rhythm asked curiously. "Actually, let me rephrase that. What is this?" He had noticed the absence of a player marker. "Actually, more importantly, where the bloody hell is my cloak I gave you"

"Her names Lily, she's a nine year old child," I stated this firmly as to leave no doubt in Rhythm's mind what I thought about this child. I never wanted to hear someone ask what she was ever again. "And I threw away that ugly piece of cloth for your information."

Rhythm's face held fake outrage at my insulting of his beloved cloak. Lily took advantage of his silence to hold out her hand to him, as I'd taught her to do today when greeting people. It had been a difficult task when the majority of players would flee at the sight of me, and I had had to explain to a downcast Lily that it was not her that was causing the players to run away, but me.

"My names Lily, it's nice to meet you."

"Ah, my names Rhythm, it's nice to me you too Lily," his words were spoken hesitantly, and he shot me a glance that said he expected an explanation later. I sent him a glance that said he might not get an explanation if he didn't lighten up.

"Who is Rhythm?" Lily asked me.

"Rhythm's one of my best friends, he's like a brother to me." Rhythm looked rather proud at my description.

"A brother…" Lily was pondering something. I could almost hear the gears in her brain whirling and clicking. Her face was scrunched up in concentration, her cheeks puffed out as they always did when she was thinking.

"So should I call him Sirius too?" She asked. I stared at her blankly, not understanding. "Sirius means big brother, right?"

I sighed as I remembered my half hearted attempt at teaching her my name this morning. I decided now would be a good as time as ever to fix that up.

"No, Sirius is my name." She looked confused, so I tried something else. "Your name is Lily, correct?" She frowned as if unsure. I sighed, deciding that I would have to manipulate her a tiny bit more for this to work.

"Your name is Lily." It wasn't a question this time.

She nodded her head and repeated after me. "My name is Lily."

"Your name is special and unique. No one else has quite the same name as you, it is very important and marks you for who you are." She nodded. I was rather surprised she understood, but her eyes were shining in understanding.

"Your name is Sirius," she said. It wasn't a question either.

"Correct, and this guy over here is Rhythm."

"Your name is Rhythm," she said, staring at Rhythm. He nodded in agreement, but his face showed that he was both a bit confused and amused by the current scene playing out in front of him.

"Rhythm is a scumbag," I said.

"Rhythm is a scumbag," she repeated

"Hey!" shouted Rhythm, less amused by where this was going.

"Don't interrupt Sirius, scumbag!" Lily shouted, countering Rhythm. I howled in laughter, throwing myself backwards in my seat, almost tipping myself over. Rhythm was growling at me, but his eyes were full of mirth. Lisa looked proud of herself for making me laugh, but a bit unsure of why I was laughing. She compromised by simply laughing along with me, her high pitched chime contrasting with my lower pitched heavy laughter.

When I calmed down Rhythm gave me a serious look, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he had come to a conclusion about Lisa. I nodded, and his eyes widened as he realized the implications of an AAI. He looked like he wanted to talk more about it, but there were more daunting topics we needed to discuss. I gave Lily a handful of col and told her to go buy something nice to eat from the café. She bounded off happily to look at the cakes and sweets that were on display.

"So, are you joining the fight?" I asked. He nodded in response, and so I asked the next question that he wanted to hear.

"Is Becka fighting?"

"She won't be, but if she knew what was going on, and that I was going, then yes, she probably would be." He spoke heavily and sadly, with the emotions of one who is unsure if what they are doing is right.

"Why are you keeping this a secret Rhythm?"

He looked up at me with haunted eyes. "She has nightmares Sirius, horrible ones. They keep her up every night, and there is nothing I can do about it. Every night she wakes up screaming that she wants it to end. I don't know exactly what that means, but I have to presume the worst." He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what had to be said.

"I'm worried she'll try to kill herself"

I was shocked. This was definitely not the Becka I knew. Then again, the Becka I knew hadn't had to watch her boyfriend be murdered in front of her by his best friend.

"Is it safe to leave her alone right now?" I asked, worried.

"No it's not that bad. She definitely will not just go out and do the deed, she's not that far gone. It's more of a… disregard for her own life. I don't see her going out and simply stabbing herself, but I can see her "forgetting" to move out of the way of a blade during a fight."

We both sat in silence, mulling over the depressing thoughts that occupied both of our consciouses. Lily came back with a slice of sponge cake that looked rather dry, but she either seemed not to notice, or was a stranger to things such as sponge cake, and found even those of the lowest quality to be delicious. She didn't understand what was going on between Rhythm and I, but she respected the silence and refrained from saying anything. I reached over and ruffled her hair in a reassuring manner and I received a shy smile in return.

"It's a good thing that your two weeks are up today. You're just in time to join the fight," Rhythm said, breaking the silence. I was confused however, as to what he was saying.

"What do you mean by two weeks?"

He frowned, as if I should obviously know this. "Your two weeks of being an orange player."

A small pit of anger began to grow in me. I forced it down, forced myself to remain calm, and continued to ask questions. "You mean that being an orange player only last two weeks."

My voice must have held a menacing tone in it, because Rhythm was shifting nervously in his seat. "Yeah, well, the first time at least. Each time you do a criminal offence, the orange marker stays for longer. The first time is always two weeks."

I began to grow very irritated as I remembered a particular potion that was supposed to remove my player status. Was that truly all a hoax?

Rhythm tried to reassure me. "Listen Sirius, it's all true, Ricochet told me himself-"

And then I lost it. "That lying, manipulative filthy bastard." I growled angrily. That potion he gave me had been absolutely rubbish, I should have known by the taste of it. I remembered telling him that I'd been orange for 13 days, thus he had realized that tomorrow I would lose my status and he had decided to manipulate me into thinking I owed him something. Like hell was I going to fight for him now.

"Woah there, calm down Sirius. I'm guessing he's tricked you, but getting angry isn't going to solve anything," Rhythm said persuasively, and I felt myself calming. It didn't manage to quell any of the irritation I felt for Ricochet at the moment though.

"I'm sure he only did it because he wants your help in the fight," He paused to gauge my reaction. He must have been happy with what he saw because he smiled and continued speaking. "I'm right aren't I. I'm always when it comes to you."

"I'm not going to fight for him." I responded adamantly. Rhythm just sighed, but admitted defeat. He knew better then anyone else that once I've made up my mind, it was near impossible to change it.

Rhythm pushed his chair back angrily and stood up. "The gathering for the fight begins in thirty minutes in the auditorium. I need to get there on time, so if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

I sighed. Rhythm was annoyed, but I wasn't going to let him change my mind. "Alright then, get going. Tell me how it goes."

"Bye scumbag," said Lily happily and ignorantly. Rhythm looked like he was about to harshly reprimand her, but decided against it and walked out. I watched his back as he trailed out of the café and disappeared into the midst of the crowd. I hoped he wouldn't remain angry for too long. I didn't have many friends in SAO, and those I did I didn't want to lose.

Lily looked at my gloomy expression in confusion and innocently asked, "Was it something I said?"

I ruffled her hair again affectionately and she relaxed under my touch. "It wasn't you Lily, don't worry about it." But she had already forgotten what she had asked and was once again focused on eating her sponge cake.

* * *

Lily skipped down the street happily, stopping every few meters to curiously observe the display of particular stalls. I smiled happily for her, but felt a gnawing pain within. Lily seemed so happy, so carefree. Had she already forgotten that her grandfather had sacrificed himself last night? Was that a drawback to an AAI, that they forget things that they were not constantly interacting with? Would she forget about me if I left her for 24 hours?

I realized that the easier way to reassure myself of Lily's memory was to simply ask her, but I felt nervous. I didn't want to upset her, especially when she was acting so happy right now. I was still pondering it as I sold the small amount of bear fur I currently had with me. The large stash that I had collected over the past fortnight was gone unfortunately, either burned to nothing within the cabin, or scavenged by the mob last night. It was unfortunate because I had collected over 800 bear furs, a small fortune if there ever was one.

This unfortunately meant that the only col I had was the little amount I received from the 30 bear furs I had currently been carrying with me. Any important purchases I had been hoping for were now out of my price range.

That didn't stop me from buying a colourful weaved cloth bracelet for Lily when I noticed her staring longingly at a particular stall. The smile on her face was definitely worth the large chip out of my savings that was now missing.

The sun finally reached its pinnacle, and I realized that Ricochet's army would currently be marching towards the boss. My emotions were fluctuating, and I was having trouble concentrating on what was happening around me. I collapsed on a park bench, relishing my freedom as a green, innocent player. As long as a player didn't look at me for too long, they would never have to know about my orange player experience. If only those damn wanted posters didn't exist I would quite literally be free.

Lily sat next to me and began playing with the wooden bracelet wrapped around my wrist that she had given me. She had only given it to me yesterday, but it felt like a lifetime ago now. Time was a strange thing, speeding up and slowing down according to particular memories. As I watched Lily fiddle silently, I realized that I had to ask the question that was on my mind, even if it meant upsetting her.

"Lily, do you remember what happened last night."

She looked at me quietly, and the tears in her eyes instantly answered my question. She most certainly did. Part of me was filled with relief. She had not forgotten, she was not a faulty AAI, but an incredible advanced one. She was no longer just a program to me. She was Lily, my adopted little sister.

The rest of me was feeling guilty for what I had so bluntly asked her. She was obviously feeling remorse. Just as the bond between Lily and I was real, the bond between Lily and her grandfather was just as real. I reached my arm over, pulled her towards me and wrapped her in an enveloping hug. She never cried, but I could hear her sniffle as she struggled to hold back the tears. She was an incredibly strong and brave girl, definitely a descendant of a legionnaire.

After a while she pulled back from me and looked up at me, answering an unasked question. "I do miss him a lot, but I can't cry for him. Grandpa always told me that you only cry for those who are in trouble or need your help. Grandpa died honourably, he couldn't have asked for a greater passing. If I were to cry I would be insulting him." She sniffled one final time before clearing her face of any signs of sadness.

"That's the code of the Legion." She said proudly. She stuck her chest out proudly and I could see the inner spirit of a ferocious legion solider within her. Her grandfather had definitely passed his spirit onto her.

Even I felt proud to have been accepted by the old man. The heavy broadsword on my back was a constant reminder of the trust he placed on me. Even more importantly it was a reminder of the respect he had held for his adopted grandson. It was a heavy burden to bear, but it was not at all an unpleasant one.

I pulled the blade out of the leather sheathe on my back and admired the craftwork. The ferocious lion hilt guard was beautiful, and my eyes got lost in tracing the intricate details. As the midday sun shone down upon us, the steel of the blade reflected the light and a faint engraving could be seen.

"Protect," I whispered in awe, as I read the engraved text that I had only just noticed.

Lily smiled at me and nodded her head. "That's the other code of the Legion, to protect. It is not a legions responsibility to fight wars, or to kill those who trespass on their lands. It is a Legions sole responsibility to protect those who need it most."

"To protect those who need it most huh…"

I thought about the array of players that were currently marching towards the first floor boss. Each player was willing to sacrifice his or her life for the sake of clearing this game. They would be marching with thoughts of glory and honour. They would be confidently joking about the upcoming battle while they silently pondered whether they would survive. They were brave players who were throwing their lives away for the greater good of the other players that chose not to fight.

Were they ready though? Excluding Rhythm, Red and Ricochet, I was confident that I was exceptionally stronger than any other player. Was it fair that I avoided the fight because I refused to forgive Ricochet for his mostly harmless manipulation? If I joined the battle I was certain I would be able to help greatly, I could even possibly save lives.

"Should I protect them Lily?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

I received one anyway. "You should protect anyone, anytime you can."

I turned to smile at Lily, who was looking up at me fondly with her sweet chestnut eyes.

"Well then Lily, if you will allow me, I am going to take part in this fight."

* * *

**First things first, here's a late Merry Christmas to everyone. I guess I could also say happy Boxing Day, something thats incredibly popular in Australia and other commonwealth countries, I don't really know about America, but I'm sure you guys at least know about it. I tried to upload this chapter yesterday for Christmas but I slept in by accident, and then was distracted by christmasy stuff for the rest of the day. My bad...**

**Onto the story, things are finally moving forward, about time I'm sure some people will say. I have the boss battle next chapter, as I'm sure most of you have figured out, and I hope I write it well, I'm pretty nervous about it all really.**

**and now I'm rambling, sorry guys.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	19. A Fight To Remember

My feet pounded heavily against the ground as I ran towards the entrance of the first floor major dungeon. I had to ask for directions to the major dungeon, as I had yet to visit it.

I had learnt that there were two types of dungeons in the world of SAO, major dungeons and minor dungeons. There were countless amounts of minor dungeons, and each dungeon had its unique purpose. Some were solely quest related, while others housed powerful monsters that were useful to train against. Each dungeon usually had a specific item or resource associated with it, such as a kind of metal ore, or a kind of herb, which made minor dungeons a common destination site for players.

Major dungeons on the other hand were limited to one per floor, and they had the specific purpose of being the gateway between floors. These dungeons were considerably larger and more dangerous than minor dungeons, which was probably in response to their sheer importance. The dungeons were a complete maze, and according to the beta players it would take weeks to simply find the entrance to the major dungeons. Then, it would take weeks more to clear the dungeon and discover the location of the floor boss. Only once the floor boss was defeated would the gateway be unlocked, and players be free to travel to the next floor.

The major dungeon had been hidden behind a waterfall on the outskirts of a large town that was an hour's walk away from "Starting City". Once the dungeon had been discovered, it had only taken several days for the floor boss to be discovered. The beta's explained that this was because the first floor major dungeon was relatively small in comparison to other major dungeons. Of course, no one had attempted to fight the boss yet. Players had simply "scouted" the boss by running into the room and antagonizing the ferocious monster before fleeing.

Ricochet's force would be the first group to attempt defeating the formidable guardian and there were mixed opinions on the success of the operation. Most players thought that Ricochet was doomed to fail. They proposed that the ridiculously harsh death penalties would prevent players from fighting aggressively enough, and that the party would disband at the first hint of trouble. Some players were more optimistic, believing that because the players had spent so long on the first floor training that they would be high enough levelled to allow them to easily defeat the boss.

Everyone who had heard about the raid however was filled with a brief glimmer of hope that had not been seen yet in the world of SAO. Players were actually standing up to fight, and they would be proving that it was possible to win, and that it was possible to escape from the death clutches of this world.

The occupants of SAO needed more than a glimmer of hope however. They needed evidence and proof that it was possible. Ricochet had to defeat the boss with minimum causalities, else the SAO population would fall into an even worse state of despair. It was possible that they would be unable to recover their hopes after having them shattered a second time.

If Ricochet appeared to be failing what he must accomplish then I would interfere. I would not let the players of SAO be defeated this early in the game.

I hugged Lily close to my chest as I ran across the tall grass plains. Although I had been adamant that she stayed behind in safety, she had been... well, more adamant than me in her argument, and she was now travelling with me. Besides, when she told me that if I died there would be no more purpose in her life, I had no choice but to bring her along. I had made her promise to stay as far away from the fighting as possible however. She was in no way whatsoever to interfere else she may endanger not just her life, but my own and others.

She had understood, and although she appeared unhappy, she had reluctantly agreed with my reasoning.

My pace slowed down as I neared a loud, gushing waterfall. It looked suspiciously innocent, as if it was trying too hard to hide the fact that it was indeed hiding something. The beautiful scene around the waterfall was breathtaking. The light glimmered off the surface of the churning of the water, and small sparrows swept sharply across in wondrous synchronized patterns. I heard Lily gasp as she observed the humbling view, but we were unable to stop and admire. The fact that I had yet to catch up with Ricochet's force meant that they were further ahead of me then I had initially presumed.

I felt a refreshing shower of water coat me as I leapt through the crashing waterfall and then I continued to pound my feet against the cave floor as I followed the one way path.

I was unsure as to how I was going to discover my way to the boss's location, but it appeared that luck was on my side. Every time I came to a fork in the path I only had to choose the path that was absent of any monsters. The clearing party had obviously defeated any monsters that were in their path, and those monsters had yet to respawn. I felt relief at this when I realized that I would be able to find the boss, and that the fact that the monsters hadn't respawned yet meant I was close behind.

I continued to run uninterrupted by any monsters, and after proceeding up several flights of stairs I found myself facing two incredible large doors. They were currently wide open, and I could see within the room. A large werewolf like creature standing over two meters tall on two, thick legs wielding a massive bone axe was swinging his weapon around himself batting the players around him. The attacking group that was led by Ricochet appeared to be far too small in comparison to the tall, muscular, fur covered monster.

The monster went by the name of "Illfang the Kobold Lord" and had originally contained four full bars of health. Its first health bar had fortunately been completely decimated, and the second bar was almost empty as well. Seven parties of six members were position in an organized manner, with three of the parties dealing with the "Ruin Kobald Sentinels" that were aiding the floor boss. Although the sentinels looked powerful, I was certain that they were not much stronger then the "Forgotten Solider" skeleton I had fought and defeated two weeks ago.

The other four parties were divided into two separate forces, and appeared to be alternating in fighting Illfang. Two parties would attack while the other two would use health potions and wait for their health to recover. I noticed the current groups health was narrowly approaching yellow, and they appeared ready to switch out after a few more blows.

Ricochet's party curiously only contained five players, instead of the maximum of six players. Had he not been able to recruit enough players for a full party? I decided to ask him after the battle, and instead focused my attention on entering the room.

Although the giant double doors were wide open there was a soft transparent light covering the entrance. In the middle of the entrance was a small notification composed of floating letters.

- 41/42 players currently occupying the room –

42 players meant seven parties of six players, which were currently what occupied the boss room in front of me, minus the one player who was absent from Ricochet's party. That was fortunate for me, because it seemed to be that once 42 players entered the room no more would be allowed to enter.

I glanced down at Lily, who had jumped out of my arms once I had stopped running and reached the double doors. I was unsure as to whether she would be able to enter the room with me, if she would count as a player or not. With her safety in mind I decided that it would be safer to leave her behind the glowing blue shield, that way she may not accidently, or purposely, be targeted by a player in the heat of battle.

I glanced down at her, and found that her eyes were watching me. "I'm going in, you stay here, alright?"

Thankfully she didn't try to argue. She just nodded. As I walked through the blue light I heard her say her parting words. "Please come back."

I slowly drew my legion blade out of its sheathe, and felt confident and relaxed as it released a soft, metallic ringing sound. I held the black leather hilt of the blade comfortably in two hands, and grinned in excitement. Before I ran off I turned around to Lily and gave her a confident smile.

"Don't worry, I will," I said, and then turned around to analyse the battle.

Ricochet's party and another party were switching out with another two parties, as the majority of Ricochet's two parties health bars were below the 50% mark, some getting into the dangerously low 25% mark. The new parties jumped in, and after only two solid hits Illfang's third health bar was depleted. Everyone in the room cheered, but Ricochet was quick to bring them back to order.

"Everyone, do not forget the plan. That brute's gonna change its attacking style. Just remember what the Beta's told us and we'll be fine." Ricochet shouted.

Everyone cheered one last time before focusing again. The two assaulting parties surrounded Illfang confidently, apparently aware of what his actions were going to be. They had barely landed a single blow before Illfang lifted his glowing two handed sword above his head.

Something was apparently wrong, as Ricochet began shouting at the assaulting players to get back, but it was too late. Illfangs sword skill erupted, and his two handed nodachi whirlwinded around him striking and stunning all fourteen players. Their health bars, which had earlier been at 100%, were all depleted below 50% into the yellow region. Worse, all fourteen players were stunned and unable to react as Illfang began to continue his attack.

I began sprinting over at the same time Ricochet's two parties charged in. Ricochet's parties had not had enough time to restore their health, and all of their health bars were still in the dangerous yellow. Ricochet led them forward regardless however, yelling orders at the players to drag the stunned players to safety. Ricochet raised his round shield and was able to defend against the first attack from Illfang, but the other 27 players were still too close to Illfang, and Ricochet had to literally jump in front of an attack directed at a critical red player to avoid a permanent casualty.

His action, although brave, unfortunately left him both stunned and with less than 10% health left. The rest of the players in the room looked dismayed and horrified as they watched their leader. The strongest player in the room was being defeated, and was about to be eradicated from the world of SAO.

Illfang lifted his giant nodachi above his head again, and it begun to glow in preparation for his whirlwind like sword skill. He was within range of all 28 players of the assault team, and his single sword skill would kill every single one of them. In a few seconds, 28 nerve gears were about to release powerful microwaves into 28 users brains, effectively frying them.

I was sprinting as fast as I could, but I wouldn't make it at my current speed. It was fortunate that I had other means to travel at faster speeds. I let my body slip towards the ground as I tensed the muscles in my toes. I had improved my sword skills over the past fortnight, and now, even at a distance of sixteen meters, I was ready to use my fastest sword skill.

Ghost Rush

My body rocketed towards the towering werewolf, and my heavy two handed broadsword was bathed in a pure white glow as the system took over my body. Ricochet was nothing but a blur as I accelerated past him, and my blade moved faster than a whip as I flung it around my body and intercepted the opposing sword skill.

Both blades bounced off each other harmlessly, and both sword bearers held their ground, not giving a single inch. Illfangs sword skill had been interrupted. Everyone was saved, but they weren't safe yet. Fortunately my sword skill was not finished yet.

The legion blade flew effortlessly around my body and whipped up above my head before slashing down on the unprotected chest of the kobold. The two meter werewolf like creature was thrown backwards from the sheer impact of my second strike.

I felt like cheering, Illfang was no longer in reach of any other players. I could now fight to my hearts delight without worrying about the safety of any other players.

Illfang was quick to recover from my strike, and we rushed at each other, ferocious smiles on both of our faces. Our blades collided with one other, but neither fighter could overpower the other. In terms of sheer strength we were alike. Illfang had appeared dominant from a distance, but now that I had covered the distance and was face to face with him, I noticed that he wasn't so terrifying. He was only a foot taller then me, and although he appeared to be far more muscular, the SAO system had determined our strengths to be equal.

I lithely danced on my feet as I weaved around the giant nodachi, turning a deadly battle into a graceful dance with death to the song of my choice. I was faster and more agile then the large fur covered beast, and clearly had the fighting advantage.

Unfortunately, the kobalds main advantage lay in his ridiculously large health bar. I would only be able to survive two direct blows from the kobold, maybe only one when I remembered that I was incredibly lightly armoured compared to any other player in this room. Illfang on the other hand had only lost 10% of his last health bar from my earlier sword skill. I was slowly chipping away the monsters health, but it was a strenuous process, and one mistake could end it all for me.

The players behind me were unable to fight until their health had recovered substantially, and I realized that I would be fighting the first floor boss for a lot longer until I could expect any reinforcements. The assault team was unable to do anything but watch in awe as I danced, skipped and rolled around the giant kobold in a life threatening game of tag.

By the time I had lowered Illfang's health by half he had begun to develop a counter to the majority of my attacks, and I realized that just like the "Forgotten Solider" had learnt how to fight me, the giant werewolf had learnt as well. It meant I had to throw something new into the mix. Well, unfortunately for Illfang, I had the perfect thing.

I launched a Vertical Crush at Illfang, which he applied his counter to, and pushed me backwards while the wolf prepared a downward slash to cleave me in half. I shot off the ground towards Illfang's right side as if I was targeting his right arm. Illfang was already preparing for this move and had altered his downward slash so that it would collide with me.

I never stopped running at the incoming blade, but instead forced my two handed broadsword into a horizontal position, perpendicular to my body, with the tip reaching out towards my left. My sword began to glow in its familiar white glow while the two handed nodachi fell upon me.

Except I was no longer there. There had not been a single pause in my running forward, but suddenly I was sliding horizontally in front of Illfang, my horizontal blade ripping into its guts as my Legion sword tore through its chest.

Horizontal Bolt

So aptly named because the change from vertical movement to horizontal movement was as sudden and as sharp as a lightning bolt. I had perfected using my new sword skill against the "Giant Brown Bears". It was an exceptional skill when used in one versus one combat. The ridiculously sharp turn, coupled with the intense speed made it near impossible for an enemy that was subject to the sword skill to defend against it.

Illfang, just like the bears, was completely outclassed, and for the rest of the fight was off balance and easy to manipulate. Illfang finally fell in defeat after an all powerful Vertical Crush disintegrated the last of his health. The two meter monster shattered into an array of colourful polygons, and the first floor boss was no more.

I leaned against my legion blade for support, mentally exhausted after such a fearsome battle. Adrenaline flowed through my veins, and although it would be difficult to admit to myself, I had actually enjoyed myself during the fight. Fighting the bears was not a challenge. Solo fighting a first floor boss on the other hand was indeed a worthy feat.

Information flickered on my screen detailing the rewards I had received from the battle. A substantial amount of col flowed into my currently bare savings, but more interestingly, I had received a peculiar object from Illfang. 'Coat of Midnight', was it's name, and from the small thumbnail image that was attached with the item in my inventory I could tell that it was a midnight black cloak. It appeared to hold a ridiculous amount of benefits and perks, especially in the stealth and agility areas.

I tore myself away from my rewards to examine the silent room. It was too quiet. Each player in the room looked at me in a varying range of expressions. Some looked proud, some looked relieved, some looked shocked, some looked angry, some looked scared and some seemed to hold no expressions on their face whatsoever.

They were all looking at me however, and I felt uncomfortable under the intense gaze of forty-one players. I fidgeted with the hilt of my broadsword, hoping for something to say something, anything, to break the silence.

No one said a word. The only one who dared to move towards me was a player with a flaring temper hot enough to match her hair colour. The player held a serrated dagger towards me as she advanced, her unspoken threat all too clear through her posture.

I smiled wearily as the player continued to aggressively proceed towards me.

"It's good to see you too Red."

* * *

**Aw yeah, the first floor boss. It's about time. Hopefully the fight was enjoyable for you readers. I had it all picture in my mind, but I don't know if I wrote it out well.**

**Oh well, tell me if you like it :)**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	20. Clarity

Red glared at me from across the room, her dangerously thin body hid from view behind a wavering cape. Her green eyes flickered dangerously as messy lengths of red hair wrapped around her shoulders. She reminded me of a lioness I had once seen at a zoo, beautiful, but deadly enough that I was thankful we were separated by a three meter solid steel fence. The only difference between Red and the lioness was that I was currently inside the cage with her.

The rest of the room had been silenced in awe from my victory, but after I had called out a greeting to Red a rumble or murmuring began to pick up. I could see players pointing at me, their faces lighting up in recognition. Although it was too difficult to comprehend what exactly was being said, particular words such as posters, criminal, murderer, and serious could be heard repeated. It seemed that over the past two weeks I had truly become quite the infamous player.

Red was not distracted by the murmurs that surrounded us, and was instead focusing her utmost attention on me. In a different situation I may have found that situation somewhat pleasing, she was definitely a stunning woman, but at this point I was far too worried about my personally safety to be interested in anything else.

"You have some explaining to do," Red's clear voice rang out, silencing the surrounding players as they eagerly leaned forwards, not wanting to miss anything that was being said. Ricochet picked himself up off the ground, dusted computer programmed dirt off of his chainmail armour and confronted me as well.

"Yes, you do have some explaining to do, don't you Sirius."

"Alright then, ask away. I wasn't planning on going anywhere," I turned to glare at Red. "In fact, after two weeks of being treated like a criminal, some human company sounds delightful." Red scowled in annoyance, unhappy that I was blaming her on my criminal position.

Ricochet on the other hand was grinning. "So that potion worked perfectly, did it?"

I growled under my breath as I remembered his earlier manipulation. "Actually, let's go back a bit," I said. "I think you have some explaining to do Ricochet."

His grin widened before he responded. "Oh please, do tell me what the matter is."

"You know damn well what it is. You told me that if I drank the potion I'd wake up the next morning without the orange player marker."

The grin never left his face, but his eyes sparkled with cunning as he scrutinized me. "And just what is the problem? From what I can see, you managed to remove your orange mark."

"The problem," I growled, "Is that the potion didn't do a damn thing. "The first time a criminal player mark is received it disappears after two weeks."

Ricochet clapped his hands mockingly. "Very good. It's true, it's all true." He frowned, the grin finally leaving his face, but his eyes proclaimed that he wasn't finished. "However, I don't recall telling you that the potion would cure your player status."

I stopped myself from spluttering. How he could so blatantly lie was beyond me. "You specifically told me to drink the potion and that in the morning my green player marker would be gone."

The grin was back on his face. "Yes, but I never said the two were related now, did I?"

I couldn't believe he was pulling threads out of my argument. "You told me every beta player knew about this."

"Ah, by this, I'm guessing you mean the potion. You are correct again, incredible. Are you always on top of things?" When I didn't respond he continued talking. "Every Beta player knew about the potion. It's composed of particular substances and is more commonly known as 'lemonade'. Perhaps you recognized its peculiar taste when you drank it so eagerly."

By this point I realized that arguing any further would not only be useless, but detrimental to my own self-esteem. The players surrounding us were watching with much amusement. It apparently amused them that the player who had single-handedly defeated the first floor boss could be riddled with torment so easily.

Red had been following the exchange quietly, confusion on her face as she began to piece together the context behind the conversation. Her face flared up in anger and it appeared that the woman who had been making my life hell had just discovered another reason to be mad at me.

"You let him go last night," She all but shrieked at Ricochet. "I thought you said he subdued you on the rooftop!"

I laughed at this, amused at the thought that I would have any chance at defeating Ricochet in a fight. After last night I had no doubts about who was the stronger player. Red glared at me laughing, and I decided to answer the question that was being left unasked.

"You honestly thought it was possible for me to defeat Ricochet. Here I thought you had a good thinker between your ears, if nothing else."

She looked furious at my response, but appeared to understand what I said. I noted that she was indeed getting better at thinking rationally when she was angry. Not much better, but any improvement is better than no improvement.

"So if you're so humble and weak, how on earth did you defeat Illfang on your own?" She asked, and I saw several players nod their head in agreement with her question. Even Ricochet seemed curious.

In fact, I had been wondering the same thing. Ricochet should have been able to do what I did, but the injured players he was trying to rescue had handicapped him. Even then though, I had displayed complete dominance against Illfang during our fight, something Ricochet had obviously not been able to accomplish.

"I think," I said unsurely, "It's because of my sword." To consolidate my statement I lifted my legion blade off the ground and swung it around my head once before sheathing it on my back. Players looked at it curiously. There was nothing about the sword that made it stand out greatly in awesomeness, but no one said anything, so I continued my theory.

"I'm pretty sure this sword is equivalent to weapons we can find on higher levels. I've poured most of my stat points into strength, and even then I can only just wield it."

"How come I've never seen that sword before?" asked Red.

"I only received it last night." I made a point of glaring at Red. "Very late last night." She had been the one who organized the raid on the cabin last night, and I was not in the mood to forgive her for that anytime soon. I noticed that she at least she had the decency to ashamed. Even she knew that she had gone too far last night.

"That doesn't explain how you got the sword," said Red, continuing her investigation. "And how come none of the beta players know about this supreme weapon?"

"That's because my grandpa gave it to him, and he wouldn't give to just any player out there." Lily had walked into the room, classifying it to be safe enough for her to enter without breaking her earlier promise to me. Everyone turned to look at the new arrival and was shocked to see that the voice had come from a nine year old girl. They were even more surprised when they realized that it was an NPC that was defending me.

"What the hell have you done now?" shouted Red, once again jumping to conclusions and ultimately becoming furious at me. I could here Martin's colourful laughter in the crowd as he recognized that young girl from his visits to the cabin on the hills. At least I had one ally here.

"What do you mean what the hell have I done? I've done absolutely nothing thank you very much," I shouted back. By now Lily had crossed the distance towards me and was hugging me in relief. Although I found the gesture incredibly sweet, I realized that the other players were liable to take that action out of context. If I heard one word from any of them I was going to be hard pressed to refrain from depleting their health bars. The boss room wasn't a safety zone either.

"You've… You've," Red spluttered, trying to get her words out. "You've seduced a little girl."

I was about to groan from this potentially humorous yet embarrassing situation when Lily cut in.

"At least he didn't kill my grandpa," Lily shouted before burying her head against my hip. I wrapped an arm around her reassuringly while glaring at Red who looked like she had been slapped after hearing Lily's proclamation. A mental slap, at least. It wasn't just Red who was shocked, everyone in the room was. They couldn't understand why an NPC would possibly release such a dramatic display of emotion. 'Perhaps it's quest involved?' I heard some of them mutter.

"Yes, at least I didn't kill an innocent person, did I Red?" I said gravely.

"What the hell are you talking about, it was an NPC, not a real person. He never existed in the first place. Have you gone crazy from living in this world."

"Better crazy than a murderer like you,"

"You're insane! None of them are real. The grandpa was not even useful for anything but an already completed quest, and that little girl beside you is worth absolutely nothing."

"Take that back," I whispered venomously, and Red paled, realizing she may have gone too far. Especially when she already considered me mentally unstable, she was probably worrying about her own safety now. "You know nothing, and at this rate, you never will," I said, acid dripping from my voice.

"I'm sorry-"

"No, you're not sorry," I said, interrupting her. "For the past three weeks you've been making my life hell. Every time you see me you jump to conclusions. You don't even try to think about what you're doing, 'try' being the keyword there."

She opened her mouth to speak but I cut her off again. "Why are you so interested in me anyway? There are thousands of other players out there and you choose to target me! Why? I cannot and will not ever understand your blind obsession with me."

"I don't have a choice! I'm trying to stop you from going around killing people." She shouted out in her defence.

"Then why don't you do your research? You saw the Memorial Stone, why didn't you check the date of when Daniel died. Maybe then you would've noticed that he died before the GM gave his speech. We had no idea what would happen. We didn't know the consequences." my voice had died down by now, "We didn't know."

"He's telling the truth," said a familiar voice that I could recognize anywhere. Rhythm stepped forwards out of the mesh of players, his black cloak billowing around him, his two handed sword still in his hands. "I was with him on the first day, him and Daniel fought each other in a duel not understanding the death penalties."

"You're the one who helped him escape two weeks ago. You're the guy who was at the memorial stone with that shorter girl," said Red accusingly, although her voice contained none of the harsh anger it did when she would accuse me.

"Very good. It's true, it's all true," said Rhythm mockingly, repeating what Ricochet had said to me earlier. "You two are just so good at this being on top of everything skill." Red clearly did not like to be compared with me, and she became rather flustered. I personally found the whole situation quite amusing.

Red heard my half-contained laughter however, and rounded on me again. "That might explain your first murder, but you clearly have no excuse for your second. You received an orange player marker. That's proof enough that you're a murderer."

"I didn't have a choice! It was either him or Chris. You know, that young kid who was hanging around me that day. " Red didn't look convinced. "He'd already killed a player in front of my eyes. He was the cold-blooded murderer not me."

"But they're all dead now, aren't they? No one left to deny your story. Very convenient." Red was grasping at straws now, and it was becoming incredibly irritating. Why was she so stubborn in trying to criminalize me?

As I was pondering this, another player stepped out of the midst. "I can't deny anything, bus I can certainly vouch for the truth of my amigo's story." Martin stood proudly as he faced Red and defended me. He winked at me from behind his curly black locks. Friends like these were truly worth dying for.

Red was not looking more and more unsure with the current proceedings. "I've never seen you before in my life, what do you mean you can vouch for him."

"The reason you've never seen me is that my good amigo over here let Chris and me use his only teleportation crystals so we could escape Dark Blade. Just for your information, this was after Dark Blade had already murdered Jarvis and his attempted assault on Chris."

Red looked utterly defeated. "You were innocent this whole time," she said softly. I nodded morosely. "Why didn't you just say something?"

I blinked, unsure if she was joking or not. When it became clear that she was not, and was in fact utterly serious I lost control of my highly strung emotions.

"Because you wouldn't fucking listen! I tried once and all I got was a dagger to my throat."

She was rendered speechless and I was left with a guilty feeling of satisfaction. It was not very respectable to lose of your anger like that, but after everything I had been forced to go through because of this meddling girl I could not help but feel slightly satisfied at her defeat.

She muttered quietly something I couldn't hear. "Pardon? I missed that," I said.

"I said I'm sorry! OK!" she cried out, before she broke into tears and sprinted out of the room. Everyone left in the boss arena was deathly silent.

"Well," said Ricochet breaking the uncomfortable silence, "You handled that brilliantly."

"Just shut up," I responded bitterly. Even if it was Red, I felt terrible that I had reduced a girl to tears. Any man in the world should feel ashamed if he's been the cause of a girl's tears, no matter the circumstances. It was just one of those primal instincts that were hard to ignore.

Deciding that I wanted nothing more than to leave this battlefield I turned away from the watching players and walked towards the staircase at the end of the room. Lily gripped my wrist as she followed along with me and I felt myself relaxing in her presence. Hopefully I would be able to find somewhere on the second floor where we would be able to live. Perhaps there'd be a nice city somewhere.

I stopped when I realized a serious problem had been left unresolved. "The wanted posters," I said to the watching players, "everyone knows exactly what I look like, even without the orange player marker, don't they?"

I heard a few murmured agreements in the crowd and sighed when I realized that there was no easy way around this. I was probably the first criminalized player to have a wanted poster. My avatar name "Sirius" had become slang for criminal players. No one was about to forget me anytime soon.

Even when I looked at the crowd of forty players, 27 of which directly owed me for saving their lives, I realized there was little they could do. The posters had already been released and a few dozen players proclaiming I was innocent was hardly going to do much to change public opinion.

I sighed, finally reaching a conclusion. "I don't expect you to go out and preach that I'm innocent. I'm smart enough to know that won't solve anything." There were a few more murmured agreements. I turned around to stare directly at the crowd of players that Ricochet had rounded up for the fight today, his 'Builders' as he called them. "However, I hope that none of you dare start any more slanderous gossip about me. I think you owe me that much."

I began walking up the stairs oblivious to the silence and wide eyes that remained behind me. I had only taken several steps when I heard a voice shout out of the crowd.

"What the hell is this? After all the hard work we went through to beat the boss, we're just going to let him go? You all saw him get the last hit reward. He doesn't deserve it at all!"

I didn't even bother responding. I was sick and tired of people vilifying me behind my back. I just wanted to leave and be away from everyone and everything. I was pleasantly surprised however when Ricochet defended me.

"Let it be Villias."

Villias rounded on Ricochet. "Why are you, of all people, sticking up for him? He's not a Builder, he's just a low life Serious player. He wasn't even part of our team."

Ricochets voice hardened like steel. "He was always part of our team Villias. Why else do you think my party only had five players in it, one less then the maximum?" He paused, and then raised his voice so I could clearly hear his next statement. "I never doubted for an instant that Sirius, the most serious of players, would fail to come to our aid."

I left the room with a smile on my face. Ricochet might not have been the most direct person to deal with, and his intentions may often be hidden from view, and he may be a manipulative little bitch sometimes, but he knew how to lead an army. An army is built on trust, not on strength, and Ricochet had just proved that he trusted his subordinates.

I supposed that Ricochet was incredibly fortunate I had run into Lily, else I never would have found the motivation to help prove his faith.

* * *

**And hey hey, 20 chapters and we've cleared the first floor. Hope it was a good experience for you readers. The rest of the story should transpire a bit faster, but don't expect any crazy rushes.**

**Also, thanks to "Blinded in a Bolthole" for his continuous support. It's incredible how much having someone to bounce your ****opinions on chapters off of helps. There's more than one though, so thankyou to all my other reviewers so far. Every word means a fortune to me.**

**Happy New Years Eve everyone, I hope the next year will be as good as this year was for you! Also, try and go crazy tonight**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	21. Two Months Later

Stone shards shattered against my blade as I held my ground against the formidable "Stone Orc". It was supposed to be a tall monster, but in comparison to my 6'3 height it was less threatening than expected to be. Being one of the tallest players in the game definitely had some advantages.

As I deflected the stone covered fist that was aimed at my chest I activated my sword skill Sword Play. It was a three hit chain sword skill that I had recently unlocked after helping to defeat the fourth floor boss.

My glowing white sword shot out in two rapid slashes and one fierce stab, quickly depleting over half of the Stone Orc's health. Sword Play was a quirky little move, but other than it's rapid hit rate and higher than normal damage output the move was rather useless.

It didn't have any speed bonuses like Ghost Strike did, nor was it useful for dodging incoming attacks like Horizontal Bolt. In fact, the lack of any after effects of the move, like the stun effect of Vertical Crush, often left me vulnerable to attack after the skill had played out.

Still, it was a common sword skill that was available to every single bladed weapon. It was rewarded to a player for reaching level fifteen. Despite every player having the potential to unlock it, only a handful of players currently possessed it at this point in time. I was not one of the leading players in the game. Certain players such as Red, Ricochet, Richard, Villias, and a handful of others were at least a level above me, if not two levels. However, I was within the top twenty players, which meant that only about twenty players could have unlocked the sword skill Sword Play.

The fact that it was so easily acquirable was perhaps the reason that the sword skill lacked any distinguishing features. It didn't matter to me however, as I was certain that at some point in time I would have need of this skill, and I would be sorely disappointed if I did not train myself with it.

Therefore I was out fighting Stone Orc's in the fifth floor major dungeon. The current Stone Orc I was fighting had recovered from my sword skill and was retaliating with its bare stone fist. I slid backwards out of reach, and then subconsciously activating my acrobatics skill I ran at my opponent. Before I reached the orc I launched myself into the air and impaled my two handed legion broadsword into its stone head. Using the sword as a pivot I slipped myself over the top of the orc, landing behind it while simultaneously wrenching my blade out of its head. Stone shards scattered around me as the Stone Orc collapsed clumsily to the ground before succumbing to defeat.

I glanced at the time on my menu and decided it was time to head back to "The Quarry". It was the largest city on the fifth floor, and as the fifth floor was based on a miserable stone setting, the city was aptly named "The Quarry". Each floor was based on unique environments that affected the way monsters acted, and sometimes the monsters themselves. The Stone Orcs were a perfect example of the stony theme of the fifth floor.

As I began the long journey back I began to reminisce. It had been two months since the first floor boss had been defeated. Since then three more floor bosses had been fought. I had abstained from fighting against the floor bosses on the second and third floor, but the fourth floor had been a different situation. The previous floor boss raids had been led by Ricochet who always calmly ensured that order and safety was constantly present in the boss fights. They sometimes took hours, but there were never any deaths.

On the fourth floor a new player began a rushed raid on the boss, with only half of the maximum allowed players. That day, twenty two names had been added to the Memorial Stone. When I heard that the players had been inspired by my "heroic acts" against the first floor boss I had felt sick. Ricochet, the manipulative little bastard had confronted me when I was at my worst convinced me into joining the fourth floor boss raid. If I was seen not as an individual, but a simple, ordinary solider fighting alongside everyone else it might persuade players to not do foolish, solo actions.

And so I joined the fourth floor boss battle, and it went incredibly smoothly. The battle dragged out five hours long, and although players complained that it could have been done faster if we were more aggressive, none of them complained about the lack of deaths. Ricochet was storming through the Sao game slowly, bur surely and safely.

The fourth floor boss battle had made me realize just how large the experience bonus was for defeating bosses. It was a good weeks worth of experience for the average clearer. I had gained three more levels during floor two to four, but the one boss battle alone had had advanced me one whole level instantly. That left me currently at level fifteen, a more than respectable level at this point in the game.

If one compared the rates as to how people were gaining levels now to the first floor they would be shocked. Where it had once taken a day to advance a level, it now took weeks. No one had expected the intense level curve that players had begun encountering when they reached level 10. I assumed it was done purposefully by Kayaba Akihiko to allow the game to be playable for a longer period of time. Many players had hypothesized that SAO would take at least two years to complete, if not more, and I felt that Kayaba must be having the time of his life right now, in some foreign SAO world in Japan.

The past two months had been largely uneventful for me, not that I had minded in the least, but it had been a shocking change from my first month in this world. It was a relief not to openly be branded a criminal anymore. Of course, most players eventually recognized me from the wanted posters that still hung around from before, but I was either in a city when this happened and safe from danger, or out in the wilderness, and out there I was faster than anyone who had reason to attack me.

The most shocking change that had happened however was the change of attitude of the everyday players. It was almost unheard of at this point to hear about players that refused to play the game. All the players that had adamantly refused to play had left the game early on through depressingly various means, and after the story of Ricochet's defeat of the first floor boss, thousands of players had been motivated to pick up arms and fight.

Ricochet, the manipulative bastard he was, had been all too happy to gather all the attention onto himself and his followers, or "Builders" as they liked to be called. As soon as they reached the eighth floor Ricochet had proclaimed that he would create a formal guild.

The eighth floor was a source of excitement and worry to every player. Everyone was eager to unlock the guild creation option. Players wanted to start creating formal parties with home bases displaying their trophies and achievements. It was something everyone looked forward to.

What was worrying however, was that the beta players only just managed to reach the eighth floor, and did not have any information on the eighth floor boss. As soon as we reached that point, we would be playing the game blind, and that was possibly one of the most horrifying things I could imagine. The past four bosses had been largely defeated thanks to beta information, and although the frontliners had adapted greatly in the past three months to fight in unexpected situations, the loss of pre-information would be harsh.

Curiously enough, the frontliners were no longer called 'frontliners'. Instead they had been branded with the label "Serious". It was those Serious that went to go fight those ridiculous bosses, It was those damn Serious who were occupying all the best mob zones, and it was those damn Serious who had all the money in this crazy world. Of course, the title was less of an insult than when it had once meant players who were murderers, but the title was still more negative than positive.

Personally, I was unsure of the title, particularly because it had its origins in my character name, Sirius. It had become an ongoing joke with Rhythm that whenever he was with me, which was not often, and we heard someone discussing the Serious, he would fall down on all fours and cry, "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy."

It had become irritating very quickly.

But I put up with it, because I knew Rhythm was going through a harder time than I was. Becka had still not recovered from Daniel's death, and both Rhythm and I were worried that her depression had caused long term effects. There was unfortunately nothing we could do, as there were no psychologists in the world of SAO, and no search engines we could use to research a cure.

Rhythm had originally thought that time would eventually heal, but lately he had begun to think that she needed a shock of some sort. A shock, he had hinted a few times, that I could provide. I was not ready to face Becka yet though. In all truth I was probably never going to be ready, but every morning I came up with an excuse to delay the inevitable meeting a day longer.

I had last met with Rhythm over a week ago. It was truly difficult to organize meeting times with Becka always needing him for support. On the other hand, I met with Martin almost every day. At first his friends had been very suspicious of me, and it was only with much persuading and consoling from Martin that they had allowed me to stick around on quests.

They had warmed up to me after a while, and in the past few weeks had begun to relax around me, laughing at my jokes as I laughed at theirs, but we were not friends. I was only there because of Martin, and if Martin ever forgot to invite me to something, you could be sure that his friends would also 'forget' to invite me. I greatly enjoyed having dinner with Martin and his friends, but that constant tension had slowly put a strain on me over time.

To be perfectly honest, the only thing that had kept me sane these past two months was the presence of Lily. I had been disappointed to discover that to buy a house in Sao cost a small fortune, and that it would be a long time before I could even consider buying a reasonable home. To compromise, every time a new floor was cleared I would eagerly rush to discover a comfortable but affordable two bedroom inn that Lily and I could stay in.

I would put down a weeks deposit at a time, just to ensure that my time didn't run out and that another player would not steal my room. Surprisingly, room stealing happened often. Although there was plenty of accommodation for everyone, there was limited accommodation that could be considered liveable. Most players would be forced to sleep on scratchy straw beds every night in rooms that gave off a peculiar and horrible smells.

A few of the Serious had discovered an excellent way to make money through accommodation. After they defeated a floor boss they would be the first to reach the main cities of the new floor. The Serious would rent out as much accommodation as they could afford. Then when the new players arrived on the newly opened floor and were looking for places to stay they would be forced to pay the Serious for the rooms instead of the NPC's. The Serious were notorious for their highly inflated rent.

The general population of players hated the Serious for this, but there was little they could do. In the world of SAO, strength was everything, and those that were of the highest level ruled without worry. The Serious could do as they wished and players would have no choice but to obey.

Occasionally I stepped in here and there and supplied some warnings and threats to some Serious that were going too far, but otherwise I just let the world run as it would. I didn't want to be a manipulative leader like Ricochet. I just wanted to enjoy my life here.

I had finally reached "The Quarry", and decided to drop by an NPC merchant and sell the supply of rock salts I had collected from the Stone Orcs. I only just made it to the stall in time and finished my transactions before the store shut. That meant that it was 7pm, high time that I get back to Lily.

I rarely let Lily follow me in the wilderness. It was exhausting to both train and watch over her defenceless figure for hours at a time. It would be trying for her too, as she would not be able to run around freely else she might encounter a threat of some sort. Thus I let her stay in the cities when I left, trusting her to retreat to whatever inn we were currently staying in at the first sign of danger.

When we'd meet up after my training she would tell me stories of her day spent running around the city. There was a lack of children in the world of SAO, mainly due to the strict age restriction on the video game in Australia, so Lily would be forced to try and get some of the adults to play with her instead. Some days I would travel through the large teleporter and take her to "Starting City" to play with Chris, who had been technically "adopted" by an old couple that were stuck in SAO after deciding they should play a game together for old times sake. I had felt sorry for them at first when I realized that they had sacrificed the rest of their lives to play this game, but they never seemed to stop smiling. I eventually realized that they didn't care where they spent the rest of their lives, as long as they were together. It made me smile see to two people love and depend on each other that much.

My Coat of Midnight fluttered around my feet as a gust of wind tore down an alley. Other than vambraces, boots and gloves, the midnight black cloak was my only source of armour. Most people called me insane, saying that I was gambling with my life by wearing such little armour. The boots and gloves provided the absolute bare minimum in terms of defence, and I only wore them because of the bonuses they provided. The gloves increased my grip on my broadsword and the boots allowed me to run over rough terrain with ease. My vambraces were layered with sharp rows of steel teeth that could effectively defend from a blow in desperate situations.

I was barely in desperate situations however, and I could count the amount of times I had been directly hit by an opponent in the past two months on my fingers. In my opinion, my acrobatic, dance-like fighting style was perfectly safe.

The Coat of Midnight was excellent, and I was certain I would be wearing it for a many more floors. The cloak increased my agility stat by five points, almost two whole levels of stat points, and applied a feather effect upon me, which allowed me to jump higher and with more ease. The cloak also gave a bonus to the Stealth perk, which was a perk I was constantly training due to my need to avoid certain rowdy players in safe zones.

I reached the entrance to the inn I was staying in. It looked like an old Victorian stone manor and it was quite beautiful really, definitely the nicest place I'd stayed in yet. I walked in the door with great pleasure and relief as warmth flooded out of the warm room. I walked over and stood in front of the roaring fireplace. Winter was coming, as was so aptly said these days, and the weather was growing colder everyday. For me, this roaring fireplace had probably been the deciding factor in choosing an inn to stay at on this floor.

I stared into the deep reds and yellows that licked the wooden logs and the stone walls. The sizzling and crackling of the wood was a reassuring sound and I stood closer to the open flame in an effort to warm myself. I lost myself in the vivid fire, and the bright reds reminded me of a certain woman, thus I found myself thinking about Red. I hadn't seen her since the final boss battle. In fact, no one had. Ricochet was very disappointed as Red had been a prominent fighter in the first boss battle, but there was little he could do as Red had removed him from her friends list. In fact, it seemed she had removed everyone from her friend list and had gone to live a life of solitude.

At first I had said good riddance, and was thankful that that particular thorn in my life was gone, but after the first month I had begun to worry. The last time I had seen her she had been in tears, and even though it wasn't how I wanted to imagine her, the image kept floating back in my head. I felt guilty but I didn't really understand why. If anyone should feel guilty in this situation it should be her for ruining my reputation in SAO.

As I stared further into the fire I imagined her bright green eyes, always alight in anger. I wondered what they would like when she was happy or laughing. I was distinctly worried when I discovered I simply could not imagine that. I could only picture her red face flared in anger, her long ginger hair cascading around her face in frustration and her painfully thin arms gripping a serrated dagger. Not that it was a bad picture, her anger held a certain kind of attractiveness in it, but I was shocked that I could not imagine her laughing.

My thoughts became more and more confused as I began wondering about her unnatural thinness. Even her pale face was too pale to be considered healthy. It wasn't something that SAO had programmed, so it must have been related to real life. I realized that I was quickly approaching the taboo topic of delving into players' real lives and pulled myself out of my thoughts.

I wrenched my eyes away from the fire and rested my head in hands, trying to determine what has just come over me. I didn't know why I had suddenly become so lost in thought over Red, especially now for the first time in two months. I shook my head, hoping that it was not a case of foreshadowing.

Needing to do something to distract myself, I walked over to the innkeeper and updated my rent. It had fallen to only three more days, but now it was reset at the maximum seven. Admittedly, this inn was rather expensive, and about half of the profit I had made today was spent updating the rent. I didn't mind though, money was made to be spent. I really didn't see the point in hording a large fortune of col.

I waved my hand in a greeting to a few other players who were sitting in the inn, relaxing as they drank the inn's famous ginger beer and listening to an NPC band play music. They ignored me however, still not trusting me after one of them had recognized my face from the wanted posters. I sighed, realizing that I would have to figure out how to repair the damage done from those posters, and sooner rather than later.

I walked up the stone staircase to the second floor and opened the door to the right wing. The room I was renting had a large glass sliding door at the back that led to a balcony that had a beautiful view of the city below. There was a small fireplace that had smouldering logs and embers within it, giving the room a warm, homey feeling. The main room was about eight square meters, but had two small single bedrooms, a kitchen around the corner, and a small bathroom. The kitchen and the bathroom were both unpractical for me, seeing how I couldn't cook, nor did I have to use the bathroom in SAO. The extra rooms were in fact what made the room more expensive than the average accommodation. It was the fireplace which had, once again, persuaded me to go all out and rent this place out.

As I stepped through the front door and closed it behind, I noticed a different source of red sitting at the dining table. Bright green eyes stared at me from beneath wavering red hair that flickered with different shades of fire. Foreshadowing indeed, I mused, as I carefully made my way towards my unexpected visitor.

* * *

**And theres a two month time skip. Not what I like doing, but I plan to finish this story in less then a thousand chapters. Hopefully it doesn't bother you all to much. If we're going back to my "Arc's" theory, I'd say the old one has just finished, and that this chapter represents the beginning of the next one. I hope you'll enjoy what I have planned.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	22. A Stressful Night

The monotone sound of chatter could be heard seeping through the stone walls of the grand manor. A soft, crackling fire in the hearth illuminated both the comfortable room and the guests currently occupying it, who were currently around a small, square dining table. Lily and I sat on one side while Red sat on the other, clearly defining the current relationship we had with each other.

I wasn't angered by Red's impromptu visit. Rather, I was rather relieved that after two months she had finally decided to make contact. I was unsure whether Lily felt the same way however, or if she still held onto a vendetta for her grandfather. She had not voiced any objection to Red being in the room, but she hadn't really said anything at all tonight.

I decided to break the silence with a question that was bothering me. "How did you get in our room? It's supposed to be impossible for anyone other than the room owner to designate who is allowed to enter at will."

When Red did not respond I continued to berate her. "What if you had been an assassin, or an enemy of some sort? I need to know how you got into the room so I can protect myself."

Still, Red did not respond. She fidgeted with the sleeves of her cloak as she looked down at the table, avoiding my eyes. She was being secretive about something, but I couldn't tell what. It wasn't the method she had entered the house by, the apologetic look on her face expressed that she clearly wanted to answer me. Something else was holding her back.

Finally, a voice broke the tense silence, but it wasn't the voice I was expecting. "I let her in," stammered Lily in a soft, nervous voice. I looked at her in shock, but she took my expression differently then I had anticipated.

"Please don't be angry with me! I know that you don't like her and that she's done some bad stuff and you don't get along at all and so I didn't want to let her in but she said she was going to apologise and wanted to talk to you and I though you could forgive her and-" Lily paused to take a huge breath and I jumped in before she could start up again.

"It's fine Lily, don't worry about it," I said, but Lily's voice drowned mine out as she began her rant again.

"I promised her not to tell you that I had let her in because I didn't want you to be angry at me for helping her because I know you don't like her and I'm really sorry that I didn't realize that you could be in danger because I let her in and I-"

"Lily," I said, interrupting her loudly in a slightly exasperated tone. She closed her mouth instantly and I winced when I heard her teeth crash together loudly. She looked nervous as if she had done something wrong. Of course, in her mind, that is what she thought

"I'm not mad at you Lily, I promise," she unclenched her jaw, and I sighed in relief when I recognized that she was listening to me. "I was just surprised that you decided to let Red in, I honestly did not expect that from you. You forgive far easier then me." I ruffled the top of her head with my left hand as I wrapped my right arm around her in a hug. I gave her a quick squeeze, which she returned, before I let go.

"In fact," I said, continuing from where I left off, "I'm rather glad you let Red in tonight." I turned to face the third player in my living room who was staring intently at Lily and I. She was obviously quite fascinated with the relationship I had with Lily.

I had tried to keep it quiet over the past two months that I had befriended an AI, but word had slowly seeped out. Practically every single higher tiered player knew about my situation with Lily, and I often received some less then subtle offensive remarks. I had been surprised how blunt some players had been at first, but then I realized that my previous confounded criminal player experience very much altered the way they perceived me.

The wanted posters didn't help either. If it weren't for them my face may have been forgotten over time, and I could have gone back living a semi-normal life as long as I never revealed my player name of "Sirius". Unfortunately the wanted posters provided fresh reminders to the population of SAO of just who exactly I was supposed to be.

Looking at Red, I felt that she already understood my relationship with Lily better than the average player, but I felt the need to make it perfectly clear before we discussed anything else.

"As you can see Lily is as close to a real person as any other player in this world of SAO. If you have trouble accepting that, then I suggest you leave immediately."

"I understand, don't worry, I've heard more than a few of your rants about her before." She said this with a small smile on her face, but it wasn't a smile of laughter or happiness I once tried to imagine her wearing. It was just a small reassuring smile. Her eyes told a different story though, and hidden beneath those green irises was a touch of sadness and a foreign sense of longing.

Although my curiosity tore at my mind, raging to discover her secrets, it was taboo to talk about real life in SAO, so I reluctantly refrained from the interrogation that was being held behind the dam walls of my consciousness. Instead I chose another question that had arisen.

"When have you heard me ranting? Nobodies even seen you for the past two months."

"Just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not there," She responded cryptically. Her cryptic response answered enough of my questions however. For the past two months she hadn't simply been sulking away in some corner of the world. She had been advancing through the cities along with everyone else. She just advanced in her own peculiar fashion.

"So you're not an assassin anymore, but you've moved up in my ranking order to the stalker level. Anything else you want to tell me?"

Her cheeks flushed slightly at my insult, and I found that the faint colouring of her face was a pleasant change from her normally sickly pale tone. "I am not a stalker," she said loudly in indignation. "I only eavesdrop on you when you're making a scene," she continued, her voice lowered to an embarrassed whisper.

"Hey, I don't make scenes!" I replied in my own tone of indignation. It was Lily that responded to me in between fits of giggles.

"Don't lie Sirius, if you made any more scenes in public you could make a movie."

I growled at her playfully. Rhythm had taught her that one, and I was still angry with him for teaching her insults that went against me. Of course, once I saw Lily's cheerful face I would never have chosen to remove what she learned. I had to constantly remind myself not to be selfish about her. She was not my property, but a living, growing person who should be allowed to learn whatever they wanted.

Even if it was at my expense.

Red had been watching our banter and she had an amused smirk on her face, apparently amused that a nine year old child had gotten one up on me. She was less amused however by Lily's follow up comment.

"You could make a movie in it with her, and you two could be lovers or something," Lily said to me, ignoring Red's uncontrollable spluttering and reddening cheeks. I howled in laughter at Red's embarrassed face.

"We'd have to kiss you know," I said, and Red froze and her eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at me. "If we made a movie that is," I said hurriedly, trying to prevent any immediate assaults from Red. She continued to glare at me, and I gulped as I began predicting my near doom. "You know what a movie is right? Bright lights, big screens, pop corn, soft drinks, that kind of thing."

"I know what a movie is," Red snapped while she huffed in indignation. Lily giggled at Red's childish behaviour, which caused me to laugh all the more.

Red stood up in one swift movement, and I responded instinctively. My feet swept along the ground as I pulled myself off of my seat, my right hand pulling my broadsword off my back while my left hand swept Lily behind my back. Before Red had even drawn a weapon I had the tip of my blade at her throat.

Red froze again, but this time it was not in embarrassment, but in fear. I saw her swallow and her petite adam apple retracted into her slender neck. She raised her hands slowly in the air in significance of her surrender.

"Drop your weapons," I ordered, and she slowly drew three daggers from various sheathes and dropped them on the ground. Lily scampered out from behind me and picked up the dangerous looking blades. I glared at Red for a while longer trying to determine if there was anything more I could do. Eventually Lily tugged on my shirt and I reluctantly sheathed my own broadsword and sat back down on the table, gesturing for Red to do also. She sat down rather timidly, but with a rather confused look on her face.

"Safety protocol," I explained, "Believe it or not, after three attempts on my life, perhaps more, I don't exactly trust you." I glanced down at Lily who was frowning at me. "Lily on the other hand seems to have forgiven you very readily. I would highly suggest you don't give her any reason to regret her forgiveness or you'll be facing me."

Red nodded hurriedly in agreement. "I understand completely, I've given you no reason to trust me these past two months," I didn't try to correct her, and she just shrugged and continued talking, this time a curious expression clouded her face. "What I don't understand is why you would confiscate my weapons. We're in a safe zone, it's impossible to hurt each other, let alone kill each other."

"It's not that it's impossible to kill each other in a safe zone, it's just that a method hasn't been discovered yet," I said gravely. "I prefer not to take chances in a death game such as this."

"And you thought that I have the means to murder in a safe zone?"

"Well, if there's anyone in this world who wants to kill me, it's you," I said. She opened her mouth in protest but I cut her off. "Maybe you've changed in the past two months, but I've yet to see it, so until then, you're my number one enemy." She didn't try to argue this time, and instead looked rather regretful, almost sad. I sighed, and decided to lay off her a bit.

"Listen, I don't honestly believe you would murder anyone, those were just reflexes earlier. You stood up suddenly, so I reacted in a similar fashion. That's it, it was just reflexes."

"I wasn't going to attack you," she said stubbornly. I raised an eyebrow and after a few seconds she finally relented. "Alright, fine, I was, but not with my weapons. I just wanted to stop you laughing at me."

I groaned, and lent backwards into the chair. "You can give her back her weapons if you want Lily," I said to Lily, who happily obeyed and skipped over to Lily. I then turned to face Red. "You, girl, need to learn how to take a joke."

"I'm not a girl, I'm a woman," She retaliating before noticing the grin on my face.

"I'll repeat it for your sake. You need to learn how to take a joke."

"How does anybody stand you?" She asked, while groaning into her hands.

"Truthfully, I don't think anyone does," I said while laughing. "Except perhaps Matthew…"

"Matthew?" She asked, confused at to this new name.

"Ah, never mind, that's a name from the real world," I said quickly. I hadn't meant to use Rhythm's real name. It was still difficult to think of him as Rhythm sometimes, but spending time in this world was definitely blurring the lines between what was real and what was not.

I decided to change the conversation before she caught onto who Matthew/Rhythm may have been. I did not think that he would be particularly happy if I let that one loose.

"So why have you been stalking me Red?"

"I haven't been stalking you, you perverted zealous fool-"

"Goodness woman, they're jokes, have you never heard of them before me?" I decided I didn't want to hear the response to that question so I quickly asked another one.

"Let me rephrase in a way just for you. What do you want from me?"

She recovered her composure and her face transformed back again into the calm demeanour it usually held. I sighed, having enjoyed her previous expression far more.

"I need your help," she said bluntly.

I waited a few seconds for her to continue, and when it was clear that she wasn't going to, I spoke. "That much was obvious."

She glared, but I noticed it was not quite as harsh as it had been in the past. Little steps, I supposed.

"Have you heard of a player called Perilous?" I shook my head and she continued talking. "I'm not surprised, he's not a very renowned player at all. He's contributed to a few of the previous floor boss battles, but even then he's kept his identity rather concealed."

"You mean he's a Serious that doesn't care for renown?" I asked, surprised to hear of such an anomaly. Of course, I guess that I was also thrown into that anomaly group now that I think about that.

"Yeah, no one really knows why, but that's probably because no one even really knows he exists in the first place."

"The reason why," I said speaking my thoughts, "Is most likely for the experience bonus. Defeating a floor boss is worth about two days of experience for us Serious players. If some of the lower levelled players snuck in somehow, it could be almost weeks worth of experience."

Red blinked, astonished with my conclusion. "Yeah, you're probably right. I didn't think of that because I've only been in one floor boss battle so far." I nodded as I remembered her month long absence. "Well as I said, Perilous is hardly known, but those who do know of him do not have the most positive opinions of him."

"What you're trying to say is that he's an asshole," I said, summarizing.

"Worse," She replied grimly.

"He's an orange player, isn't he?" She nodded in confirmation. "And you're going out of your way to hunt him down?" She nodded again while I breathed out heavily in frustration. "Why does this all sound so familiar to me?" I was relieved when she didn't simply nod her head again like an obedient puppy.

"Listen, I was going to get to that-"

"I thought you might be," I interrupted.

"And I realized you were the only I could come to," she finished.

"How am I the only one you could come to?" I demanded angrily. "As far as I can remember, you had a whole mob of players who would do your bidding at the click of your fingers. Remember that cabin on the hill? No? Well guess what? Sometimes I have trouble remembering it too. It's a shame that it's burnt down so I can't refresh my memory anytime soon!" I realized that I was standing up and breathing heavily, a result of yelling quite loudly.

Lily made a soft, stifled sound to my side and I realized the grievous error in what I had said. I lifted her off of her seat and onto my lap and wrapped her in a soothing embrace. I felt her body wrack with her subdued sobs, but she never cried. I was proud of her braveness, but was concerned with the maturity she showed. Nine year old girls should be able to grieve in tears for those they love that are lost.

As she calmed down I turned my focus to Red. I glared at her and was relieved that she had the sincerity to look ashamed. She looked abashed by my tirade of accusations against her, but she bravely held her ground and did not flee.

"You're the only one I could come to," She said in a quiet, sad voice, "Is because you're the only one who would possibly believe me after falsely accusing you of being a murderer."

She pulled a lock of long, red hair out of her face and raised her face so that her vivid green eyes were looking softly at me. "All the Serious players know exactly what happened to you, and all of them blame me for it."

"I don't think that's true. I've yet to see a single player on the frontlines who respects me." I thought about it for a minute. "Well actually, Rhythm and Martin treat me pretty well, and Ricochet treats me the same as he does everyone else. Martin's friends aren't that bad either I suppose, even if they do seem perpetually distrustful of me."

"No one blames you for the murders Sirius. They're cold towards you because you made such a scene on the first floor boss battle, and that you somehow received a legendary sword and are reluctant to tell anyone how exactly you got it."

"So basically," said Lily, who had been paying apt attention to the whole conversation, "they're jealous."

Red gave Lily a quick smile, but the warmth never reached her eyes. "Yes, basically. Unfortunately for me, if there's anyone they blame for the murders you're looking right at them."

"They blame you?" I said, shocked by the revelation.

"It's difficult to blame a dead person for something, so they chose to blame the next closest associated person. It couldn't be you, because you reacted so violently to my accusations against you that they're scared of repeating my actions and you attacking them. Therefore the next closest person is-"

"You," I finished for her. I stopped to think a bit about her situation. "How angry do you think they are with you? Would they try to kill you?"

"I've heard many players say that when they're with their friends, but it's easier said than done."

"Because of their consciousness?"

She smiled viciously at this. "No, because I'm so damn hard to kill."

I almost laughed at this, but managed to contain myself for fear of insulting Red. "If you'd changed the tone of your voice just slightly, that could've been a joke you know."

Red blinked in surprised. "Really? A joke?"

"Yeah, of course!" She still looked confused. "Never mind, we're just getting off topic here."

"Right," She said, agreeing, but I noticed it was with some reluctance.

"So because all the Serious players are blaming you, and regular players are too weak to help, you chose to came to the only person that is in neither of those groups?"

"Yes," she replied, appearing happy that I'd finally understood why she was here.

"And you honestly thought that out of every player out there it would be me that would say "Alright" and go out of my way to help you."

She looked abashed, but she kept her eye contact with me and nodded her head boldly.

"You're unbelievable," I said, while leaning back in my chair, sighing heavily. "Any normal player would never accept this, you know that right?"

Again she nodded her head, and her vivacious green eyes followed mine.

"So why did you think I would help you?"

"It wasn't that I thought you would, it's that I had no other choice," I groaned at her answer, clearly unhappy with her response. "But also, I knew that if you did say yes, I would be able trust you completely. When I've seen you around town, or with Lily, or with Martin's friends, I can see that you're a person who always go through with what he promises."

"Stalker," I muttered.

"I'm not a stalker! I was desperate."

"I've told you already, it's-"

"A joke, I know, but I'm telling you I'm not a stalker."

I turned to Lily. "Do you think she'll ever learn?"

Lily giggled from behind her hands. "Maybe if you stay with her for long enough."

"You think so too huh?" I said to Lily, and she nodded her head eagerly, her blonde hair bobbing with her movements.

I turned back to Red. "Well then, you're in luck. You somehow managed to incorrectly criminalize one of the few players with a prominent hero-complex who just can't bear to leave helpless girls alone."

"I'm not helpless! And I'm not a girl!" I raised my eyebrows, and after a few seconds she caught on. "Right, a joke." She was quiet for a few seconds as played with the edges of her cloak around her wrist. "And you don't have a hero-complex either. You're just a good person."

Something about the hero-complex had struck her deep, and although I was curious, I decided to leave it alone. If we were going to be working together from now on, then there would be plenty of other opportunities.

"Well, hero-complex or non hero-complex, I'm helping you either way. However, you owe me a favour."

She smiled proudly again, and she changed back into her no-nonsense façade she so commonly wore. Her green eyes twinkled mischievously and I began to worry about what I had landed myself in.

"I already planned for that." She said, while leaning towards me from across the table, her vibrant red hair cascading down her shoulders to her chest. "How would you like to do something about those posters?"


	23. Tension

I opened the door quietly and I soundlessly made my way behind Red and grabbed her suddenly, which caused her to respond a little less soundlessly. Her loud squeal of surprise caused me to break into laughter, which quickly resulted into a headache after she less than gently reprimanded me.

"Oww, don't hit so hard," I whined, massaging my temple. Unlike the real world in which physical assault from girls was stereotypically generally painless, the SAO system removed all aspects of that distinction, and strength relied solely on one's strength stat. Unfortunately for my pounding head, Red's strength stat was painfully high.

"Oh, don't be such a girl," She replied haughtily, still trying to regain her composure from being surprised.

"I don't get why you're allowed to call me a girl when I'm not allowed to call you one," I muttered under my breath. She either fortunately did not hear me, or unfortunately heard me and decided to save my punishment for later as she made no response to my comment.

"Anyway, here are as many of the posters I could find," I said, holding out my hand that contained a bundle of rolled up wanted posters. Red had made contact with me three days ago by sitting in my living room, and since then I had been on reconnaissance and collection of the wanted posters. Red, meanwhile, had a more artistic job.

"Excellent," she said, and without further ado she took the papers from me and threw them into the roaring fireplace that sat in the corner of my current accommodation.

"Hey, you didn't even count them!" I whined. "Do you know how long it took to find that many of them?"

"How many did you find?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Twenty-two," I said proudly.

"Well then, I counted twenty-one of them before I threw them into the fire."

"Twenty-one, that's no fair. Are you saying I can't count or something?"

"I'm saying that you're so full of yourself you obviously counted more than you collected."

"That's just harsh," I said as I sat down beside her to examine her work. "Besides, I only found twenty, not twenty-one, so I guess I win."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Red said, staring at me in disbelief before turning back to her project.

"It doesn't have to make sense to be true," I responded as I picked up a large bundle of new wanted posters that were upon the table.

"You haven't been teaching that kind of nonsense to Lily have you?" Asked Red as she picked up a rough hewn wooden pencil.

"And what would you do if I had been?" I asked teasingly. I fell off my chair as I leapt out of the way of the incoming pencil that was rocketing towards my face. I dodged the pencil, but it continued its trajectory into the solid stone wall and split in half. I stared in dismay as it shattered into small polygons and was removed from the system. "I guess that's what you'd do," I grumbled as I picked myself off of the floor.

I dusted some imaginary dirt off of my casual clothes. "I hope that wasn't your last pencil. You still have another thirty minutes of drawing before you're free, and I'm not accepting an "I broke my last pencil" kind of excuse." I said this jokingly, not really expecting her to have used up all ten of the pencils I had purchased for her. It was surprising just how expensive basic equipment could cost in the world of SAO, and I was not eager to buy her another pack any time soon.

She sighed as she played with the air in front of her with her fingers, and seconds later a wooden pencil appeared in her fingertips. "This," she said both tiredly and exaggeratedly, "is my last pencil, so please don't make me waste it on you."

"Fair deal," I said, as I went around the room picking up the new wanted posters I had scattered in my rush to dodge the pencil. I examined every poster I picked up and admired the detail in each drawing. Every poster had a different mug shot of a different person on it. Not one poster looked the same except for the title at the top of the poster.

-Wanted: Sirius-

I counted thirty-seven posters by the time I had picked up the mess on the floor. I shuffled them neatly back in order and placed them back on the table.

"They're impressive," I said admirably, "What's your drawing skill at?"

"189," she replied distractedly. She was putting the finishing touches on the last poster. The man in the portrait had short cropped black hair with a small, pointed nose, narrow, gray eyes and wide lips. She finished the final words and handed the poster to me.

"And that's the thirty-ninth poster," she said. Exhaustion was clear on her features, and I felt guilty that I had holed her up for so long to do something so menial.

"And you told me I can't count," She looked at me confused, "that was your fortieth poster, girl." Thirty-eight, thirty-nine or forty, it didn't matter to me, but she did deserve a rest. She definitely looked thankful to have reached a solid number, even if she would snap at me later when she found out she'd only made thirty-eight.

"You said I could stop drawing at forty right?" She asked, and I nodded in affirmation. "Excellent," she said, more to her herself than to me and banished the remaining blank papers to her inventory. I grabbed the thirty-eight new wanted posters and banished them to my own inventory. I would distribute these to the world later.

"You're sure no one will be able to tell the difference between these and the real posters?" I asked.

"Of course I'm sure, who do you think made the original wanted posters in the first place?"

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again, I can't believe you did that to me."

"I thought you said you forgave me for that," she said, annoyed that I had not dropped the topic yet.

"I did forgive you," I said while grinning, "I just never chose to forget about it."

"What will it take to make you forget?"

My features grew serious as the mood of the situation changed. "If you tell me your reasons for why you were so concentrated on catching me."

The silence between us grew longer and longer before I realized that I would not be receiving an answer. I sighed, stood up, and went to the storage chest to collect some bread to snack on. I selected an extra loaf and threw it towards Red who graciously accepted it. It was a bland meal, as was almost any meal I ate that was not at an NPC run restaurant, but it was filling, and it solved my immediate hunger.

Even with my attempts to lighten up the atmosphere between us, the past three days had been difficult for both Red and I. Red was constantly looking for a way to get me to forgive her, but she was unwilling to talk about herself at all. I was not willing to forgive her completely until I learnt of her true reasons for devoting herself to catching orange players, in particular, me. The unstable compromise we had come to resulted in an awkward, distrustful atmosphere around us.

It was a shame she never laughed at my jokes, although I did suspect that it might have been that my jokes themselves were just terribly poor. I wanted to see a different side of Red, one that was not weighed down in seriousness. I wanted to see Red laugh, and watch the laughter spread all the way to her alluring green eyes.

I started when I discovered those specific eyes staring intently at me. "When will Lily get back?" she asked.

Lily and Red had gotten off together immediately and were now best of friends. Red had been outraged when she realized that Lily lived with me within the same accommodation, and Red had all but demanded that Lily come live with her from now on. I was incredibly relieved when Lily had held her ground and chose to stay with me. I would have felt incredibly betrayed by anything less.

It had aggravated me that Red could possibly imagine that I would be unfit to look after Lily, or that inappropriate activities would occur. Who the hell did she think she was? She was the one who had come to me saying "I trust you" and all that other shit, and then at a whim she turns all that around.

But, like usual, it was done with good intentions in mind, it just wasn't the right course of action, so, with a lot of persuasion from Lily, I had grudgingly forgave her before a fight broke out.

I realized I still had not answered Red's question, even though there wasn't much to answer. "She'll be back when she's back," I responded vaguely, but it was an exact of an answer as I could muster myself. Lily wasn't a robot set to return home at a specific time, she was free to return as she wished. Of course, she had to be home for dinner each night, but that was more of an unspoken agreement then a direct order from me.

Red did not appear pleased by my answer. "Well then, I'm going to stay here until Lily returns."

"Suit yourself," I said while yawning. "Actually, change of mind. You can wait downstairs in the bar for Lily. I'm going to go take a nap, and I still don't trust you enough with my sleeping body."

Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment at my response. "What do you take me for, some sort of… scarlet woman."

"I guess your hair could be considered scarlet, if you were looking at it in the right light," I said as I struggled to contain the smile off of my face.

"Not that kind of scarlet you moron, I meant a… well a… a…"

"I'm waiting,"

"I meant a whore you perverted ass,"

The laughter escaped me and my body began convulsing as uncontrolled gleeful laughter left my mouth.

"I'm glad that you think me saying that word is so humorous to you!" Red shouted angrily, and I just laughed louder.

Finally, I managed to gain control of my breathing. "That's not what I was laughing at. When I meant I didn't trust you with my sleeping body, I meant violently, not sexually." Laughter escaped me again as Red blushed further at her misunderstanding. "Now look who's the perverted ass."

Red stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her in anger. I shouted after her "Oh come on, you know I didn't mean that," but with the programming of SAO, noises within a player owned living quarters were unable to leave the room, thus Red was unable to hear my apology.

"Oh well, it's not like she would listen to it anyway," I muttered to myself, still chuckling slightly at Red's reaction. I supposed that I should lighten up on the teasing around Red, as she was doing me an immense favour. She had, unlike me, devised a way to remove the negative effects that my old wanted posters still had on my every day life.

The plan was to collect all the old wanted posters and burn them, so no one would have any physical evidence left of what I looked like. The only thing that would remain would be their memory, and Red had claimed that if we flooded the safe zones with fake wanted posters for a player called "Sirius" that people would eventually confuse who the once murderous player actually looked like. It was a rather ingenious plan, but I could only hope that it would work. I felt like there were a lot of holes where everything could fail.

I decided to simply trust Red. I headed to my room, ready for a glorious nap, when I spied a small piece of paper tucked beneath the table Red had been working at. I got on my hands and knees and reached for the paper, swearing in the process as I bumped my head on the stone table.

At first glance I thought that Red had forgotten to burn one of the wanted poster of me that I had collected. When I noticed that the finer details of the wanted poster were missing however, such as the text, I realized that it was a drawing solely of me.

The drawing was quite articulate. It captured my gray, sharp eyes perfectly, and even my nose had the same small hook at the end of it as I did. The mouth was curled into a mocking grin, and the cheeks stretched along with my lips. The rough unshaven texture around my chin and jaw was incredible too.

Compared to the old wanted posters, this drawing was definitely an improvement, an improvement by a giant milestone. Red must have drawn it recently, I realized. I chuckled as I banished the drawing to my inventory. This could be some entertaining material later on.

As I lay down to fall asleep, a single thought kept swirling through my mind, causing my much awaited nap to be just out of reach. For what reason could Red possibly have had to draw a portrait of me?

* * *

The sharp pencil bit into my skin, and I clenched my teeth as the pain shot up my arm. A hooded figure held a pencil in her hands in a grip like one would hold a dagger and was pushing the point firmly into the centre of my hand. I winced as the tip began to draw blood, and I began to struggle as the pain became worse.

I tried to move my feet but I found them shackled together. Surprised, I tried to wrench my arms towards them to grasp at the chains, but I found that my wrists were securely trapped against the wooden wall behind me. I held back my scream as I realized what was happening, and I looked down at the hooded figure and began to beg for forgiveness.

Wisps of red hair escaped from the hood of the cloak and I realized with glee that it wasn't Becka, it was just Red. This wasn't one of my nightmares at all. Red wasn't going to kill me, or torture me, she was just getting me back from earlier. Despite that, the shackles and chains confused me. Would she truly go this far just for a joke, and the pencil in my hand was really beginning to hurt. The hand holding the pencil began to shake and I stifled a gasp as my skin began to tear and blood soaked freely from the gaping wound.

Red pulled down her hood and her red hair cascaded down her face, but something wasn't right. Her eyes weren't the vivid green, and her face was lacking the painfully thin feature that Red had. I finally began screaming as I realized that it wasn't Red in front of me. The person in front of me was none other than Becka.

Red's vivacious hair began to blow away from Becka, leaving behind her signature chestnut hair. I screamed, but my screams formed words this time.

"Where's Red! What did you do to Red you bastard! Tell me!"

But my screams went unanswered, and instead Becka plunged a pencil into my stomach. The pencil went in incredible smoothly, and without resistance, and I stared in shock when I realized that it was in fact a serrated dagger that was impaled in me. It wasn't just any serrated dagger either; it was Red's serrated dagger.

I tried to move my hands to pull out the murderous weapon, but cold hands stopped me. I looked over at my wrists and found that the shackles were no longer there. Instead, Daniel had latched his hands onto my wrists and was holing me firmly in place while he laughed gleefully at my pain. Becka pulled the dagger our roughly, ripping and tearing skin in the process. She drew the weapon back behind her shoulder, and then began to thrust it down upon my skull.

Light cascaded through my eyes as I blinked rapidly. Lily was shaking my wrist in her petite hands while a red haired figure burst threw the door with serrated daggers raised looking for a threat. I exploded upwards in a blur of chaos and motion. Lily was thrown backwards onto the bed while my sword was whipped out of it's sheathe and slammed into the threatening figure before they could react. The player was blown off their feet backwards into the stone wall while the serrated daggers fell out of their grip and landed on the ground in front of me with a clatter. I jumped back as I hissed at the dagger, eager to be away from the deadly weapon.

I could hear a faint screaming from behind me that was steadily getting louder, and I suddenly realized that my listening was numb. Lily's screaming of my name finally pierced me through my stupor. I became aware of my heavy breathing, and dumbly realized that if this were in the real world, I would be sweating terribly right now.

A groaning from the wall opposite Lily attracted my attention, and I dropped my broadsword in sudden realization. I ran towards Red praying that she was unarmed. In a few steps I had covered the distance, and breathed out in relief that Red was alive, her health bar was still full.

"Are you alright," I managed, fearing the response. Red simply nodded her head and began coughing, trying to recover from her harsh impact with the wall. I reached out a hand to help lift her up off the ground. The second our fingers touched I felt myself blown backwards across the room into a wooden wardrobe which shattered into pieces as I collided with it.

I recovered from the impact almost immediately and stood up, but discovered that the impact had left me with a woozy feeling in my head. I looked at Lily, concerned for her safety, and was relieved to notice that she had only been pushed onto the soft bed. She gave me a quick reassuring smile, which I tried to return, but failed miserably. Instead, I glanced over at Red who had finally stood up and was currently retrieving her weapons. She noticed me staring and stared right back at me angrily.

"Now we're even," she said harshly, and I just nodded in agreement, but questions were on my lips.

"What the bloody hell was that?" I managed, still feeling nauseous from the impact she had magically assaulted me with.

"That," she explained, "was the anti-harassment warning. The option comes up in safe zones when players are assaulted violently or sexually. You don't have to activate it, but if you do…" She trailed off.

"If you do, it hurts like hell," I finished for her.

"Well, I've never had it happen to me before, but I had presumed it would be rather painful."

I groaned again, struggling to get my head to stop spinning. "How did you get in here anyway, I thought I kicked you out."

"You did, but Lily let me back in," she said, a bit too smug for my liking. I growled at her before collapsing on the bed beside Lily. I gave her a forgiving smile, reassuring her she wasn't in trouble and then closed my eyes.

"Do you want to tell me what the hell that was all about?" Red asked.

"Bad dream," I responded simply, not wanting to go into further detail.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked

"Not really."

"Do you have these nightmares often?" She continued.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it," I said, snapping at her, "and I never said they were nightmares."

"But they are, aren't they?"

I rounded on her, not pleased as to where this conversation was heading. "Listen, if you want to know something about me, then I expect you to open up first about yourself, alright."

Red opened her mouth to say something, but wisely closed it again. She thought about what I said before coming to a conclusion. "Fair enough."

I sighed, all of the relief from exhaustion I had gained from my restless nap had vanished. "Are you sure this is going to work, we barely trust each other in a safe zone, how are we meant to trust each other when we're tracking down Perilous?"

"Unlike you, I don't have a choice. You're the only option I have if I want to stop him."

"How do you even know he's guilty? How do you know you're not making another mistake like you did with me?"

She chose not to answer, and simply checked the time on her menu. "It's time to meet the informant. I suggest you take those posters with you and spread a few of them around town while we're at it."

The posters were a gentle reminder of the promise I had made with her earlier. She would make the fake wanted posters for me and confuse the population as to who exactly Sirius was and in exchange I would watch her back and aid her in all of her dealings with Perilous.

It wasn't in my nature to go back on promises I had made, even if they seemed foolish, and irritated me to no end, so I gave Lily a parting hug before reluctantly leaving the room with Red.


	24. Crystal

The silvery moon passed through a gap in the cloudy sky and a faint light glistened upon Red and I as we sat together on a park bench. From a distance one might think we were a couple, but as they came closer they would have noticed the unnatural stiffness in Red's posture and the distinct space between the two of us.

No, if one were to call us a couple they would be sorely mistaken. That's not to say I would be insulted by such comments, but it was just such a preposterous statement.

Red seemed to share the same preposterous view, and glared sharply at any players who passed by and attempted to make eye contact with us. Red had a long, black hooded cloak on with her fiery red hair tucked within. She had decided that she wanted her identity to remain hidden, and I had no quarrels with that. What she wanted to do with her life in SAO was her choice, not mine.

I looked up at the sky again and tried to determine if the moon had travelled any further along the sky then it had last time I had looked. I sighed when I failed to discern anything and once again went back to playing with my menu and inventory.

"You sure he's going to come?" I asked Red, not for the first time tonight.

"Yes, I'm sure," she snapped back, "they just wants to make sure they're not begin followed."

"He's been making sure no one's following him for three hours now! Are you sure he's not just hiding from his own shadow?"

"Was that a joke?" she asked, clearly unamused.

"See, now you're catching on. That's the spirit." She remained unamused, so I simple shrugged and went back to reorganising my menu, yet again.

Red glared at another player walking by who was looking at us in envy. "Maybe this guy already came by, and you scared him off with your stare."

"It's not just some guy, alright. And besides, they've met me before, they know exactly what I look like."

I stared at Red in amusement. "You do understand Red, that this guy is looking for a girl with red hair."

"And?" she said, tapping her foot in annoyance.

"That right now none of your red hair is visible." She looked at me in confusion. "At all," I added for emphasis.

She finally gaped in understanding and astonishment. "Idiot," I muttered, which was followed by a sharp jab to my side.

"Well hurry up and remove your hood," I said in irritation while I rubbed my throbbing side.

"I can't," she whispered, "I'm trying to hide my identity, remember?"

"Oh for god's sake," I said exasperatedly, and I leant over and yanked her hood down. Or at least, that was the desired effect. My fingers seamlessly slipped off of her hood and slid away. I forgot that players couldn't mess with other player's equipment without permission.

"You know that the anti-harassment icon just appeared on my screen," Red said calmly, but with an icy undercurrent in her tone.

I winced, preparing myself for the physical shock I was sure to receive. When none arrived, I gingerly opened up my clenched eyes and received a different kind of shock. Red had removed her hood and was shaking her head and allowed her hair to swish freely around her shoulders.

"There we go," I said happily, "The informant will be here in a minute now, I guarantee it, no guy could ever pass that up."

"I keep telling you, this isn't just some guy. And you're just being stupid. It's not like they're just going to magically show up when I take off my hood."

"I bet he will,"

"I bet they won't,"

"1000 col he will,"

"1000 col!" Red said squealing. In her defence it was quite a sum of money, but I was pleased when she nodded her head.

"Deal," she said.

"Deal," I agreed.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" said a new voice.

I turned to face the arrival and grinned at the hooded figure. "Nope. In fact, you're just in time." I turned back to Red. "Time to pay up Red."

Red turned to the newcomer. "It's nice to see you again Crystal."

"It's nice to see you too Red," said the figure, and they pulled down their hood to reveal a luscious mane of silvery hair. Soft eyes with a hint of violet shone softly, and red lips were curved into a gentle smile. Her body was hidden behind the bulky cloth of her cloak, and I found my imagination running loose about what hid beneath.

"Is your friend alright?" The beautiful woman asked Red.

"That idiot's just fine, don't worry." Red turned to me. "Time to pay up Sirius, "he" never arrived. And close your mouth, it's embarrassing."

I snapped my mouth closed, finally having realized that I was gaping at the newcomer. "You never told me the informant was a girl," I complained weakly.

"I never said she wasn't either. I kept trying to tell you that she wasn't just some guy, but you wouldn't listen."

I remained silent for a while longer, trying to comprehend what Red had done. Finally I released a small cheer and turned to her.

"A joke, that was a joke!" She looked at me confused. "Well, it was more of a prank than a joke I guess, but it's just as good." Red looked rather pleased with herself and I mentally congratulated myself on having directed the conversation away from me owing her money.

The silver haired girl was looking at us in both amusement and confusion, so I decided to introduce myself.

"My name's Sirius, as Red already let slip. It's a pleasure to meet you Crystal." I stood up and make a grand show out of bowing towards her. Crystal giggled from behind one of her hands.

"You've found one with a sense of humour," Crystal said to Red who responded blandly.

"Yes well, I try to put up with him."

"Oh, don't act so negative, I'm sure he'll be good for you."

"Can we just get to business!" Red said angrily as she stood up in a rush and stormed away from us. Crystal looked surprised by Red's sudden exit, but not at all upset. In fact, I could have sworn I saw the hint of a smile playing on her face.

"Are you ready to leave, my Lady?" I asked mockingly. She giggled once again from behind her hand, and reached out her arm to wrap it around my extended elbow.

"It would be my pleasure, my fine gentleman," she responded in good nature to my joke.

"Excellent, someone who knows who to play along," I said, relieved to have some new company that was not Red.

"Whoever said I was playing around," she said mischievously, and I found myself being laughed at as the Sao system exaggerated my emotions and caused a red blush to appear on my characters avatar. I grinned at her as the blush faded as quickly as it had arrived.

"And it's been even longer since I've been on the receiving end of something. Tonight's going to be excellent," I said, and then burst into laughter, which was quickly followed by Crystal's singsong laughter.

"And we are we going on this fine night, darling?" Crystal asked, playfully continuing with the joke.

"Well actually, we'll be visiting my place," I replied.

"Ohh, how bold you are," she said teasingly, and we both laughed at our comical dialogue.

We rounded a corner and spotted Red standing in front of the large, stone manor, thin, pale arms crossed below her chest glaring at us from beneath her hood. She must have lifted the hood back up on the trip back. Although it would have hid her identity from most people, her unmistakable sparkling green were a distinct confirmation for me.

"As soon as you two are done flirting, how about we go upstairs and discuss some important matters," Red said coldly, before turning her back to us once again and entering the manor.

"I'd say someone's jealous," said Crystal with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Jealous?" I said incredulously. "Red had a wide variety of fluctuating emotions, but I don't think jealousy's one of them."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Crystal said cryptically, before leaning in so that her lips were centimetres from my ear. Her warm breath on my skin made my senses tingle and I struggled to concentrate on her voice.

"Also," she whispered huskily, "I saw what you did back there. I get 500 col, or I'll remind Red of the bet." With that, she let her arm slip out of my elbow and strolled gracefully towards the entrance of the manor.

"Damn," I said to myself, "How did Red find this woman?"

"Sirius, get your ass in here," came Red's loud, demanding voice. I sighed, and retreated into the stone buildling.

"Hopefully not in the same way she found me," I said out loud, answering my own question.

* * *

"The sweet cakes are ready," Lily said happily as she placed the large tray of desserts on the stone dining table. The hearth fire crackled comfortably in the corner, and not for the first time since I'd rented out this accommodation, I basked in the relaxing warmth. Red and Crystal were also sitting at the dining table, and when Lily's cakes were placed in front of them they eagerly seized one. Good food was hard to find in SAO.

I waved at Lily to come sit on my lap. "So the ingredient worked then?" I asked as Lily leapt upon my legs and curled up against my chest.

"Yep, they worked perfectly Sirius."

"Brilliant," I said, and then I faced the other two older girls. "And how do they taste?"

"Mmmph nmm omm!"

"What she meant was that they're delicious," said Red, translated for Crystal who was struggling to swallow the mass of sugar in her mouth.

"Brilliant," I said again. "Hear that Lily? You should start your own business," I said proudly. Lily purred against my chest in agreement and I laughed as I ruffled the top of her head.

"What cooking level is she?" asked Crystal.

"Ask her, not me," I said defiantly, trying to get Crystal to understand that Lily was not just an AI.

"Why though?" Crystal asked, confused. "You own her, right? You should know everything about her that she does."

"I don't own anyone," I snarled back at Crystal, who looked taken aback by my sudden display of hostility.

"You're not her master?" asked Crystal, still confused.

"Yes he is," said Lily, chiming into the conversation.

I sighed, hating to have to go through this again. "What did I say we were again Lily?" I watched as her cheeks puffed out and she began blinking rapidly. A few second later she released a puff of air while her lips changed into a victorious smile.

"Family!" She shouted triumphantly.

"Right," I said, "Don't forget that one again, alright?"

"Of course, big brother."

"Sirius," I said

"Oh right. Of course, big brother Sirius."

"No, just Sirius, no big brother,"

"You're not my brother?" She asked, her face crestfallen.

I groaned and rested my hands in my face, but I quickly recovered when I heard Lily's familiar chiming, high pitched laughter. I lifted my head up and glanced down at the child sitting on my lap.

"It was a joke Sirius, a joke," said Lily between bouts of laughter. I kept staring at Lily, but it was no longer in confusion, but in astonishment.

"Check it out," said Crystal to Red, "this AI girl's learnt how to joke faster than you Red."

"Her name's Lily," I said pointedly to Crystal, who simply shrugged and grabbed another sweet cake. I sighed, realizing that not everyone would be able to accept Lily as fast as Red had.

"Enough joking around," said Red tiredly, "you're here for a reason, right Crystal?"

"Mmph mmm!" said Crystal between mouthfuls of cake.

"I think that was a yes," I said slowly to Red, trying to reassure the poor girl before she snapped in frustration. I pulled the tray of sweet cakes off the table and banished them all to my inventory, leaving behind only a glimmer of polygonic rain.

"Hey, no fair," complained Crystal.

"Crystal, Red's right, we're here for a reason."

Crystal leant back sullenly in her chair with a huff. "You can't blame a girl for not wanting to talk about her past."

That shut me up. The fact that Crystal was the informant on Perilous, the supposed orange player, did indeed hint at a violent incident.

"But you're right," continued Crystal, but in a lower, less cheerful voice. "I'm here for a reason." She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Where to begin though," said Crystal.

"How about the beginning?" Red suggested helpfully.

"No, too ordinary, let's try something different. I'll start at the end."

She took another deep gulp of air, and I noticed her breath catch halfway through.

"My brother died at the hands of Perilous."

"Ah," I managed, speechless.

"If it makes you feel better, Sirius lost his best friend in this world," said Red.

Crystal looked at Red like she was insane, and I was sure I was practically mirroring her expression.

"Red, if you don't have anything good to say, then just shut up," I said, none too kindly.

"But-" she began, but when she saw the expressions on our faces, she shut her mouth. "Sorry guys."

"It's fine, I suppose," said Crystal, forgiving Red. Lily craned her head up to look at me. I nodded my head at her unspoken question, and she slipped off my lap and climbed upon Crystal's lap. Crystal wrapped an arm tightly around Lily and began unconsciously rubbing her hand in circles upon the small girl's back.

"You've told us how it ends," I said softly, "Do you want to tell us how it begins now?"

Crystal smiled weakly. "Yes, I suppose that's best." Her violet eyes clouded over as she stared into the roaring hearth. After a while she lifted her eyes back to the occupants of the table.

"This AI's great, she's like a stress reliever doll or something," said Crystal, her shoulders visibly relaxed compared to earlier.

"Her name's Lily," I said softly, but Crystal ignored me, and instead began her story.

"The fifth floor was unlocked eight days ago. I'm not a Serious, and neither was my brother, so we didn't participate in the boss battle. However, the two of us wanted to visit the new floor just like everyone else. So we waited in line at the floor teleporter, and we eventually made it to this stony floor."

"All in all, we found the city rather boring. It was still daytime however, and although we were too weak to participate in boss battles, we were more than strong enough for the average monster. We decided to head out into the wild to see if we could find something more exciting."

"My brother must have known that something was wrong. He kept looking around the stone landscape, and when I asked him, he said he felt like someone was watching. That didn't bother me though, not at the time. Player killing was unheard of apart from you Sirius, and even then, it turned out that it was all a big mistake on Red's account."

Red ducked her face in embarrassment, and I refused to make eye contact with her. Crystal remained oblivious to our awkwardness, and continued with the story.

"I never even felt it, but one minute I was fighting a Stone Hound, and the next I was lying paralysed on the ground."

"Paralysed!" I exclaimed in amazement.

"Poisons," explained Red, the only beta player in the room.

"And players can make these poisons?" I asked fearfully.

"Well, yes, but they shouldn't be able to at the moment. That skill should not be able to unlocked until far past the fifth floor. Beta players never got far enough to unlock that skill.

"Then how do you know for sure it's a poison?" I asked.

"Because there's a quest on the third floor, inside the Dark Forest, where an old witch offers the poison as a reward. It's a one off quest, and because the potion was a one use item, none of the beta players cared much about it." Red shivered when she thought about what she'd just said. "Or at least most of them didn't care. I guess one of them did."

"That makes sense if it's a poison," said Crystal, confirming Red's theory. "I thought it was an unfortunate glitch at the time, but a poison makes much more sense." The room was silent except for the dying crackles of the fireplace. Eventually Crystal spoke up again to continue her story.

"So I was paralysed then, on the ground. My brother still hadn't noticed, as he was fighting the Stone Hound. I couldn't even speak to tell him that something was wrong. I was absolutely frozen. It was horrifying."

She took a breath to compose herself. "My brother defeated the monster and turned around and discovered a hooded figure standing beside me. It was strange, but my brother seemed to know the player. My brother was silent for a bit before saying "Perilous". The hooded player replied, and said "correct," and then they began fighting."

"I could tell immediately that Perilous had the upper hand. My brother and I were not Serious, we did not have the levels needed to fight against floor bosses, but Perilous obviously did. My brother didn't stand a chance, and he seemed to know it before the battle even begun, but he didn't flee. He couldn't flee, I was paralysed on the ground. If he left, I was sure to die."

"I killed my brother as much as anyone else." Tears welled up in Crystal's violet eyes, but she rubbed them away before they began pouring down her cheeks. I saw Red open her mouth to say something, but I kicked her from beneath the table, and glared at her until she understood the message. Red hadn't yet lost someone important to her in SAO. She didn't understand how hopeless the feeling was. How empty the feeling was. It was draining, and worse, it was permanent.

"Perilous knocked my brother to the ground with a powerful blow, and my brother was defenceless. He dropped his sword and shield on the ground, and spawned two teleportation crystals from his inventory and gave one to me."

"Wait," said Red, interrupting the story. "How did your brother get two? No one's discovered yet how to find or make crystals, so the only he should've had should have been the one he started the game with."

"I gave him mine," Crystal explained.

"Why," Red asked. "Wouldn't that be dangerous for you?"

"Probably, but he asked for it, and I trusted my brother, so of course I would have given it to him. In this situation, it actually saved my life that he had both crystals, as me being paralysed, I wouldn't have been able to open my inventory and retrieve it."

"My brother thrust one of the crystals into my hand, but before he could activate his, Perilous thrust his weapon into my brother's chest. My brother didn't even have time to say anything to me before he disappeared in an explosion of blue light. There was nothing left of him. Nothing, except his sword and shield which were still lying on the ground where he had dropped them."

"I yelled activate, and the crystal covered me in blue light, and the next thing I knew, I was back in Starting City." All was silent as Crystal's story came to a culmination. Finally I spoke up, the silence to heavy to handle.

"Your brother died bravely, and would be proud of you for surviving." I said solemnly, and Lily nodded her head in agreement. "Never doubt the gift he gave you. He gave you life, and you must live on for him."

Crystal smiled bravely, but the tears would not cease dripping down her cheeks.

* * *

**And here's a new character, hope she fits in well, and hopefully her stories not too generic, but I'll see if I can do something more creative later on when the plot thickens.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	25. Cloaked Figures Everywhere

I shivered in the cold morning's breath, but other than wrapping my coat of midnight around myself firmer, I patiently remained where I was standing. Red knelt down with a bouquet of flowers and positioned them so they were leaning against the large, black, polished stone. It was the Memorial Stone, and the amount of names upon it was shockingly horrifying.

"One thousand, five hundred and sixty-five," said Red, to herself more than anyone else. I remained silent, unsure of how to respond to such a numerical statement. The names upon the rock tore at my heart, and it pained me that there was nothing I could do.

Red stood back up and began rubbing her knees, only stopping when I finally broke the silence. "You've still been doing this everyday?" I asked.

"Of course," she replied while straightening her hood so that her shockingly red hair was hidden from view. "If I don't, I'll eventually forget about them, and then some of these players will be completely forgotten. Then they'll truly be dead."

I smiled at her positive intentions. Red often made mistakes, but she had a good, unfaltering heart and incontestable willpower. If what she thought that what she was doing was "right" then it would become impossible to deter her from her goal. Just like what had happened with me, and what was now happening with Perilous.

"Do you remember what Crystal's brother's character was called?" asked Red.

I thought about it for a minute before responding. "No, I don't think she ever told us that throughout the story."

"I guess we can't use the memorial stone to prove her story then," she complained.

"Red, he's dead, trust me on this one, alright," I said firmly, not leaving room for discussion.

"That's the kind of attitude I had when I was chasing you, and look how that ended up," she argued back.

I sighed, realizing how hypocritical I was being right now. Red was trying her hardest to not make the same mistake twice, even if, in my opinion, she was going about it the wrong way.

"Sorry Red, you're right this time. You're doing the right thing." Red looked surprised at her victory, but I continued speaking. "However, I do not want you to go bother Crystal for her brother's name. If she wants to tell us then she can, but if she doesn't want to…"

"Then she doesn't have to tell me," Red finished, breathing out deeply in frustration. "I understand Sirius, don't worry, I won't do anything rash."

"Good," I said, pleased that I had defused a possible landmine in our journey. Red suddenly stiffened and cocked her head. I raised one of my eyebrows in confusion, and she nodded her head in response. In the past two months Red had often been attempting to overhear conversations from a distance, therefore she was rather proficient in the "Eavesdropping" skill.

Red held up two fingers, a silent signal meaning that two players were approaching. I reached my hand to scratch the back of my neck, while reassuring stroking the handle of my two handed Legion Broadsword. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Red crossing her arms across her body, and in the process confirming the location of her multiple daggers.

Even if we were in a safe zone, the constant vigilance I displayed had rubbed off onto Red. Especially with the threat of Perilous around, we were both cautious of the fact that a player may soon discover a way to player kill (PK) within a safe zone. You could only rely on yourself in this world, not on the rules that the system laid out. Rules, as is commonly said, were made to be broken.

I could finally pick up the faint pattering of footsteps from behind me and I turned around with a fake expression of surprise. It was best to act like the enemy had the advantage, and pretend that they had surprised you. Let them think they have the upper hand, when in fact they have nothing.

I groaned and dropped my façade when I realized that the taller of the two players was a familiar, lightly armoured player, with a two handed sword strapped upon their back.

" 'lo Rhythm." I said, my speech slurred from being exhausted, both from waking up early and overreacting to Rhythm's presence. Rhythm held up a hand in an affable greeting.

"Fancy meeting you here, I didn't think that you were a morning person," he said with a grin on his face.

"I'm not," I replied bluntly.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of his bed," Rhythm said, amusement lacing his voice.

"Someone didn't even get to wake up on a bed," I grumbled, but not loud enough for anyone to hear. Unfortunately, Red was still activating her "Eavesdropping" skill and she heard me perfectly. She looked at me in apology, her green eyes peeking out from beneath the hood that hid her features.

She and Crystal had been unwilling to leave my accommodation last night, claiming that it was far nicer than anything they currently owned. Unable to fight against two attractive girls who were trying to stay the night at my place, I had grudgingly given them my bed. Although the double bed was barely big enough for both of them, they were all too happy to allow Lily to join them, and girlish giggling could be heard throughout most of the night. I had slept on the sofa for the night, but as everything on a floor matched its environment, the sofa was made of solid stone. Sleep had not come easily, and even then it had been plagued by nightmares.

"Who's your friend?" Rhythm asked, gesturing to Red. I realized then that Rhythm, in the case of Red, was not as perceptive as me, and could not recognize her by the green eyes alone. I could see Red fidget, and I knew that she was worried I would divulge her information. I mentally groaned, did this woman trust me at all.

"Just a friend I met this morning," I replied cryptically. Rhythm eyed me strangely, but eventually sighed in defeat when he recognized the look in my eyes. I would not be giving away any more information.

"You can come out, it's safe," Rhythm said to no one in particular. A short girl, with dark chestnut hair peeked around Rhythm's tall body, before revealing herself completely and standing proudly beside him. Her proudness act was somewhat diminished by the fact that the short girl barely made it to Rhythm's chest.

"It's about time you two met again," Rhythm said to both the short girl and me. "Sirius, meet Becka."

After three months of nightmares about Becka, I had been unsure as to how I would react and cope with physically seeing her. I expected visions to flash before my eyes, images of blood, and feelings of pain to rip through my body. I expected primal fear to awaken within me, to cause my feet to pick up and flee cowardly.

I was left feeling rather strangely disappointed when none of my expectations came to life. As I stared at Becka who was no more than two meters in front of me, I realized how preposterous my nightmares were, and how foolish I had been. The demon that haunted my sleep may have looked slightly similar to my old friend, but they were also unmistakeably different.

Fear, I realized, is a powerful tool of imagination.

But as I stared at Becka longer, I realized that she also was not the same as how I remembered her. Her once warm brown eyes were now shrouded in sorrow, and there were dark, heavy rings around her eyes. I presumed that the rings were part of the SAO feature to express lack of sleep, but even if they were electronic, the meaning behind them was daunting. I remembered what Rhythm had said about Becka having constant nightmares, and I shivered as I remembered my own.

No, Becka was definitely not the same person she once was, but I mentally laughed when I realized that not even I was the same person I once was. I had had to adapt to the world of SAO to survive. I was no longer Richard Star, but Sirius. I jokingly wondered if Becka would even recognize me anymore.

"Do I know you?" asked Becka, and I flinched at the honesty of her statement. She turned to look at Rhythm. "Have I met him before?"

Rhythm gave her a small reassuring smile. "Yes, you met him a long time ago, do you not remember?"

Becka shook her head, and I begun to panic. Words flooded out of my mouth before I could control them. "You have to remember me! It's me, Sirius. Come on Becka, you have to remember."

Her eyes cleared for an instant, as if she was remembering something very important to her, but then the sorrow clouded over, and the spark of life was drowned out.

"I'm sorry," she said, and her voice was indeed apologetic, "but I don't remember you at all."

My shoulders slumped in defeat, and even Rhythm looked defeated as well. I looked at him, and he shrugged his shoulders. He hadn't expected this either. I lifted my eyebrows hopefully, but he shook his head. He was right too, it wasn't right to force my identity onto Becka. It was up to her to solve this herself.

I glanced over at Red, who still had her back turned to Rhythm and Becka. "Come on, let's go," I muttered, low enough that only Red with her Eavesdropping skill would be able to hear. We both turned and ran away at a brisk pace, Red's cloak flapping behind her in the wind, while my coat stayed snugly by my side.

After we had left the large, open, courtyard we begun to speak while running, something that should have been mostly impossible in real life, but perfectly feasible in the world of SAO. Breathing was not an essential trait here, therefore one never got out of breath, just mentally exhausted.

"I've seen those two before you know," said Red. "Just before the time in the dungeon with the young boy, Chris."

"I know," I said simply. When I noticed her look of confusion, I clarified. "Rhythm told me about it after you guy, err-"

"Fought each other," she finished, and I nodded. Under her breath she added, "I still can't believe he beat me."

"I'm not," I replied as we turned a sharp corner to run down a familiar wide ally. The NPC's were just beginning to set up the stalls along the market alley of Starting City, a place I had visited regularly at the beginning of my life in this world.

"Rhythm's always been stronger then me, stronger than anyone I know. Not in battle skill, or sheer strength, but in will power, and determination. If he raced down a dungeon to save my life from an assaulter, then I would have no doubt that he would succeed in his task."

Red did not look convinced, so I just shrugged my shoulders. "It's just who he is. Get to know him one day, and maybe you'll understand."

We were reaching the floor teleporter by this point, and it was fortunately sparse and unoccupied, as it so often was this early in the morning. Most players slept in "Starting City" because it had the cheapest accommodation, and the most accommodation out of all the current floors. This meant however, that there was a form of "rush hour" as players would line up at the teleporter on the first floor to travel to other floors to begin their day's work.

The teleporters could only hold a maximum of six people, or one full party, per transport, which meant long line-ups were often inevitable, especially when single players were travelling to unique locations.

"I don't know if I want to know him," Red said quietly as we stood inside the glowing blue light of the teleporter. "He scares me," she said even more softly.

"Because he's the only player that's defeated you so far?" I asked.

She thought for a moment before responding. "Yes, I guess that might be it. But there's also something else. He's so… determined, or… single minded. I feel that if I ever got in his way he would have no worries in removing me by any means possible."

I sighed softly before responding. "Now you know how I feel when I look at you Red." She looked at me in shock, but then regretful understanding.

"Fifth floor, Activate," I shouted out loud, and the world became a whirl of blue with Red and I at the centre.

* * *

I tore myself awake, panting heavily and feeling nauseous. I resisted the urge to scratch my arms that were still tingling with the remains of my fiery nightmare. I tore the cover off my bed and stumbled to the bathroom. I splashed water on my haggard face, but the system's attempts to distinguish the feeling of water on my face was not quite detailed enough, and none of the refreshing feeling I was expecting occurred.

Grumbling, I made my way out of the bathroom to the kitchen, grabbed a cold, preserved drink of ginger beer and downed it in seconds. I threw the empty tankard harshly at the stone wall and watched with satisfaction as it shattered into wooden fragments before disappearing in an array of colourful, technologic polygons. I turned around to find Red sitting at the dining table looking at me curiously.

"Easy cleaning," I said, to which I saw the ghost of a smile appear on her face. Baby steps it was, I thought heavily to myself.

I slouched down into a chair opposite of Red and buried my face in my arms.

"Want to talk about it?" Red asked softly.

"Talk about what?" I grumbled from beneath my arms.

"You know," Red said, and she was right, I knew exactly what she wanted to talk about. She wanted to talk about my nightmares.

"You were shouting, you know," Red said softly.

I groaned even more, but I lifted my head up to create a more civil conversation. Her green eyes were watching me carefully, and if I wasn't still dreaming, I could have sworn that she was looking worried.

"You were shouting about a girl called Becka. Is that the same girl we met earlier?" Red asked, connecting the dots perfectly.

"I don't want to talk about it, alright?"

"It sounded like she was torturing you." When I didn't respond, she took my silence as confirmation. "What happened Sirius, you can't keep it bottled in forever, it's killing you," Red said, and as I lost myself in her soothing green eyes I felt compelled to let go of every protection I'd built around myself. Suddenly, I craved support. I needed someone I could confide in, someone who I could trust.

Red blinked, and in the instant we broke eye contact the rational part of my brain began reeling my emotions back in check and storing some of the more dangerous ones behind closed doors.

"No one was torturing me, alright, least of all that girl," I said adamantly, hoping to end this conversation.

Red sighed and stood up. "You can talk to me whenever you want, you know that right?"

"I actually didn't. I've been too worried lately that you'll stab me in the back," I regretted my snide comment as soon as it came out my mouth. Red flinched, and her calm composure began to break apart.

"Sorry," I said hurriedly, "I shouldn't have said that. It was a generous offer. I'll come to you if I ever need someone to talk to."

"You promise?" she asked. I sighed, realizing that if I did indeed promise, my own morals would never allow me to back out of this. But really, what choice did I have?

"I promise," I said, confirming our deal.

She smiled, perhaps one of the few genuine smiles I had ever seen her make. Suddenly I felt less opposed to the promise I'd just set myself into.

"Come on," she said cheerfully, her bright green eyes sparkling, "Let's go hand out some of those posters."

"Is that the last of them?" Red asked, as I secured a wanted poster to the local billboard on the information board on the fifth floor.

"Yep," I responded proudly. "All 250 of them. Do you think that's enough?"

"If it's not, I promise I'll make some more for you," Red said while examining her own handiwork. "But I'm certain this will be more than enough." The current wanted poster contained a drawing of an Asian female with midnight black hair flowing down past her shoulders, and at the bottom was the large label "Wanted: Sirius".

"She looks just like me, don't you think," I said jokingly, to which Red just snorted. "Now that was unladylike."

I jumped back out of the way of her incoming fist, and then hastily made a retreat as she withdrew one of her daggers from a sheathe. "I'll see you at seven pm, alright? Bye," I managed to say before flinging myself off of a bench upwards onto a rough, stone rooftop and executing my escape. I was relieved when Red abandoned her attempt to chase after me, as I was honestly unsure as to how fast she would be. She had yet to reveal her level to me, and I was certain that in the past two months she had been doing more than just hiding.

I made my way to the stone manor where I currently took up residence. I threw open the heavy wooden doors and gave a brief wave to the occupants of the bar who responded with frosty glares. I guess I had yet to make any progress with them. They still connected my face with the name Sirius. It seems that it would take a while longer until the fake wanted posters started achieving their purpose.

I ordered a tankard of the inn's famous ginger beer and carried it upstairs with me. I ascended the stone, spiral staircase and was surprised to find a cloaked figure waiting outside the door opposite of mine. A sliver of silvery white hair had spilt out of the hooded cloak, and I recognized the unique colour immediately.

"So who's the lucky guy tonight?" I asked jokingly

Crystal lifter her head up lazily, and looked at me with furrowed brows and violet eyes. "You?" she asked.

"Wrong house then honey," I said as I opened up my accommodation, slipt into the room, and slammed the door shut before Crystal could slide past. A loud banging could be heard at the door, followed by a high-pitched whining.

"Sirius, let me in. please? You're not going to leave a beautiful lady out here in the cold."

I opened the door a fraction so she would be able to hear my response. If a residential door was closed, the SAO system dictated that no inside noise could be heard outside. However, outside noise could be heard from the inside. It was a rather simplified version of a soundproof box.

"It's not cold. The third floor is cold. This floor is… pleasantly chill."

"Please, I'll make you tea," she said, her eyes begging.

I sighed and held the door open wide. "How do you expect me to refuse that kind of offer from a beautiful woman?"

She just giggled while skipping into the room and collapsing in front of the roaring hearth. Lily followed seconds later and jumped onto her lap.

"Lily, why didn't you let me in, I was knocking for hours," Crystal said, admonishing Lily.

Lily looked at her confused. "But I didn't hear a noise," she said innocently.

"You were knocking on the wrong door, remember?" I said slowly, to which Lily giggled, and Crystal's mouth opened in an "O" shape.

"You were talking about tea earlier?" I said to Crystal, trying to remind her, but she was either ignoring me, or completely oblivious as she played with Lily. I sighed, took a sip of my ginger beer, and went to the kitchen to put together a hopefully drinkable hot drink. I hadn't bothered to take the cooking skill, so all of my attempts at cooking food naturally ended up in disasters. Hopefully something as simple as tea would not count as cooking.

I heard another knocking at the door, and groaned when I heard Red's voice shouting out.

"Sirius, let me in, I brought dinner!"

Lily poked her head around the corner of the kitchen and looked at me inquisitively. "Go ahead and let her in. Free dinner is worth the trouble."

Lily skipped to the door to open it while Crystal yelled out, "You're lucky Red didn't hear that."

"You're lucky I didn't hear what?" said Red, glaring at me.

"Hey, how come you naturally assume it's met that said it," I said.

Red looked down at Lily who was hugging Red's leg tightly, and then to Crystal who was smiling mischievously at me and then back to me. She didn't even have to say anything to prove her point.

"Fine, where's the dinner," I said in defeat.

"Not until you tell me what you said," she responded defiantly.

"750 col," shouted Crystal from the living room.

"Deal," I shouted back.

"What?" shouted Red, confused as to what this deal was.

"Check out my new armour," said Crystal distractingly. Although I couldn't see through the wall, I heard the rustling of a cloak as it fell to the ground. Lily made a noise of adoration while Red began shrieking.

"Put your cloak back on woman! Don't you have any sense of decency?"

I heard giggling, and was highly tempted to run out of the kitchen momentarily to stare at this indecent Crystal, but the kettle was beginning to smoke strangely, and I was concerned about leaving it alone for an instant.

"Uhh, I forgot what I was talking about now," groaned Red. I smiled in glee. That was 750 col well spent.

"You were talking about dinner," said Lily, and I froze as I began praying that Red would not be sent back on her original train of thoughts.

Instead, Red began laughing. "Sorry sweetheart, I was lying. There's no dinner, I just needed a way in."

I turned away from the kettle and walked out of the kitchen to stare at Red in shock. "You," I said pointing a finger at her in amazement. "That's the second time you've pranked me." I shook my head in amazement as I stumbled back into the kitchen followed by a tirade of girly laughter.

I immediately ran out of the kitchen once again, this time swearing loudly as black smoke swiftly followed me. The girls stopped giggling to stare at me in confusion.

"How the fuck does a kettle set itself on fire," I exclaimed in anger as black smoke began pouring slowly into the crevices of the room. Crystal fell backwards on the ground laughing while Red placed her hands over Lily's ears and shouted "Language," at me.

I sprinted over to the balcony and dragged the glass door open and began cursing again when the black smoke refused to obey the basic laws of thermodynamics, and remained floating in the house.

I turned back to the occupants of the house. Red wasn't laughing, but then again, when had I ever seen that woman laugh. Crystal was laughing however, and she was laughing a lot. Black smoke was spewing down her lungs, and I was relieved for her sake that breathing was not essential in this world.

Lily was worriedly eyeing the looming black smoke, and I realized the only other time she had probably ever seen black smoke like this was when the cabin burned down. I walked over, picked her up and left the stone apartment before looking back at the remaining occupants.

"We have no drinks, no dinner, and now no accommodation. I highly suggest we go out to eat tonight," I said, in a way of compromise.

The girls looked at each other with rather diverse expressions. Red looked like the last thing she wanted was to be discovered eating out with me, while Crystal looked like Snow White being invited to dance at a midnight ball. Crystal latched an arm around one of Red's arms and began dragging her out of the smoking room.

"Come on, I know a great place, and it's super expensive. You won't be disappointed." Crystal said to Red.

"I don't have much money though," said Red weakly.

"Neither do I," said Crystal brightly.

"Wait a minute," I interrupted, suddenly not liking where this was going.

"750 col," chirped Crystal, to which Red suddenly began glaring at me not for the first time this night.

"That reminds me, what did you say about me earlier," Red demanded.

"Uhh," I stammered, trying to create a suitable distraction.

"1000 col," said Crystal.

"Deal," I replied.

"Have you seen my new armour yet Sirius," Crystal asked innocently.

"Alright, we're leaving now," Red said loudly, grabbing Crystal by the wrist and yanking her out of the smoking room.

I slammed the door shut behind them and followed the two girls down the stairway, Lily on my shoulders, ever so curious as to what exactly was Crystal's new armour.

When we reached the bottom of the flight Red stopped and looked thoughtful again. "Wait a minute, what was I talking about earlier? I forgot again."

"Dinner," shouted Lily from behind me.

"Expensive dinner," Crystal added, and she grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the stone manor. The envious glances of the male players in the bar burned into the back of my neck the whole way through.

"Hood's," I said, reminding the two secretive female players.

"Right, thanks," Crystal said gratefully, and the two girls pulled them up and tucked their hair within. Red muttered something softly that I missed.

"What was that?" I asked Red curiously.

"Nothing!" She shouted loudly and stalked away. Crystal wrapped her arm around my elbow and pulled me along.

"She said thank you," Crystal whispered in my ear, and I shivered as I felt the pleasant rush of warm air stroke my skin.

"No I didn't," shouted Red from in front of us. Right, I forgot about her Eavesdropping skill.

"I think she's jealous of us," Crystal whispered again, to which Red just stormed off in frustration.

"Wait, Red, you don't know where you're going," I shouted, but it was to no avail, as the frail girl was already out of sight.

"For that matter, I don't even know where I'm going," I said to Crystal.

She was about to answer when two cloaked players jumped in front of us. What was with players and cloaks in this damn world! It was getting ridiculous. Lily slipped off of my back while my hand reached behind me, my fingers stroking the black leather hilt of my ever-faithful legion sword. I didn't draw the weapon however, as I didn't want to express any hostile intentions towards potentially innocent players. The mood changed drastically however when they delivered their message.

"Crystal?" The shorter of the two cloaked players asked. Crystal answered by nodding her head reclusively.

"We have your brother," she visibly flinched, and I saw layers of protection that she had built around herself shatter. The taller player continued the speech, "If you want to see him, come with us now."

Crystal didn't hesitate, she simply walked towards the two cloaked players.

"Lead the way," she said firmly, and the two figures silently walked away down the alley they had so mysteriously arrived.

"Crystal, wait," I shouted.

"Don't try to stop me Sirius," she shouted back sternly.

"I'm not trying to," I said to her reassuringly. I turned to the cloaked figures. "I'm coming too."

They looked at each other briefly, trying to decide the best course of action. Perhaps they recognized me as Sirius, the wanted criminal, so they viewed me as a possible threat. My right hand itched towards my blade, ready to be loosed so I could rip these players to shreds if I had too.

I was surprised when they agreed, but it came with conditions. "Leave your weapon behind," the shorter one said.

I drew the weapon off my back and handed it to Lily. "Go find Red for me," I whispered, and she ran off with my blade before anyone could stop her.

"Let's go," said the taller player, and the four of us marched off into the dark, stone alleyway that suggested nothing but ominous foreshadowing of events to come.

* * *

**Events are happening, characters are developing, and oh I love writing creatively Honestly, the ability to choose to do whatever I want with these characters is god like and it feels great.**

**^That's me on a high after recovering from a mild form of the plague or something :)**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	26. Defencless

"You don't have to come," Crystal whispered sharply at me, "this is my problem, not yours."

I looked at the two cloaked men in front of me. The taller one had an axe attached to his waist and a round buckler strapped around his wrist. The shorter one had a long, two handed spear sheathed on his back. I didn't know their names, and the only way to discover that would be to join a party with them, and because I was certain that was not going to be happening I gave them my own names.

"As soon as Axe and Spear here took you along it became my problem, alright?" I whispered back.

"They took your weapon though, you're defenceless, even more than me. They're obviously PKers, you're not going to survive," she whispered back, worry evident in her voice.

"You'd be surprised," I whispered, perhaps a little too loudly, as the shorter player turned around and shouted at me to be quiet.

"Damn Spear," I muttered to myself, and I heard Crystal cough as she covered her giggle.

"You're so unoriginal," I heard her mutter before silence descended upon the two of us.

We were forced to walk briskly through the dank, stone alleys of the fifth floor's stone city. Cheery looking fire's twinkled through the windows of the stone huts and square buildings. The chilly wind whipped at my bare flesh, and I longed to be back in my room with my blazing hearth.

We were steadily approaching the edges of the safe zone of the city, and I began to panic as I realized I had no plan. Both Crystal and I had used our original teleportation crystals, so our only escape would have to be a physical one. I could easily outrun and manoeuvre Axe and Spear, but I couldn't take Crystal with me that way. She'd either die in the process, or they'd take her hostage and then any escape would be infinitely harder.

My hand reached behind my back to stroke the hilt of my sword reassuringly and I panicked momentarily when my fingers found nothing but air. Lily had my sword, I reminded myself, and she's going to Red for help. Red will be more than enough help.

We stopped at the gate, and Axe and Spear began a quiet conversation.

"Man, I wish Perilous would just add us as a friend, we could just message him and tell him what we found," Axe said.

"Ah know, but tha' means we'd haf ta give 'im our names, and 'e's right, identity is importan'," Spear said.

"Fine, I just hope he's actually at the meeting spot," Axe said sullenly in defeat.

As I overheard this conversation I began to pale. Red might be able to take out these two low level players, but Perilous was a different situation. We knew nothing about him except he was murderous and powerful. How powerful no one knew. I could have just thrown Red into horrible danger.

Crystal had also heard the conversation, and her face had paled along with mine. I could see her violet eyes quivering from beneath her hood. Usually I would offer some sentient of reassurance, but currently I was trying to calm myself down. What the hell was I supposed to do in this situation?

Then I saw the girl of my nightmares walk by and I was strangely filled with hope.

"Becka, get Rhythm, we need help!" I yelled loudly, and Axe and Spear turned around and harshly pushed Crystal and I outside of the safe zone, whispering death threats to us if either one of us shouted aloud again. I craned my head back to look at Becka, to see if she'd heard the message.

Her hazel eyes looked at me curiously, as if she was trying to remember a foreign fact she had learnt a long time ago. Her eyes never lit up in remembrance or upstanding however, and my heart sank as I watched her turn around and slowly continue her journey further into the stony city.

She still didn't remember me. I was just a ghost of a memory in her mind. No help would be coming from Rhythm tonight. My feet trudged along the stone ground as Crystal and I followed Axe and Spear into the dark night. A small flash on the top right of my screen suddenly appeared without a chime, and hope burst within me as I realized the implications. I eyed Axe and Spear, waited until they were distracted momentarily by the howl of a Stone Hound, and then I hastily opened the message.

-Lily found me. I'm tracking you now. I have your sword. Stay Alive.-

I was unsure whether to be relieved or panicked that Red was following us. If she got to us before we got to Perilous perhaps everything would be just fine. More importantly, I remembered my ability to send messages. I could tell Rhythm to help me. I could even ask Ricochet and Martin, the more help the better.

I opened up my message screen and began tapping against the virtual keyboard rapidly but was stopped immediately by a spear at my back and an axe at my throat.

"I don't what you're playing at," Axe said, "But you better stop now or we'll slash you good."

"I've got a betta idea," Spear said, and jabbed me in the back with his spear, which caused my health to drop a large fraction, my low Vitality stat not helping in the least. "Make ya' menu screen visible t'everyone, or I'll impale ya the 'ole way through."

With a few quick swipes of my finger my menu flickered into life and Spear, Axe and Crystal's had a clear view of the usually invisible screen.

"Tha's better," Spear said, proud of his accomplishment.

Axe suddenly jumped back in shock like a snake had bitten him. "Christ man, look at his level." I glanced down at my screen and saw that my stats were clearly visible.

"Level sixteen," Spear muttered in both fear and awe. "wha' do we do?" He asked his companion.

"He's defenceless, impale him," Axe said in a panic. I felt the tip of the spear leave my back momentarily and I realized it was now or never. I spun my body around as I pivoted on my right foot and with my left arm I slammed the incoming spear downwards as hard as I could.

The spear, which was glowing green in the activation of a sword skill, was smashed into the ground, and its wielder followed its direction. Axe leapt out of the way of his companion, and rushed me with his weapon. I deftly slid sideways and avoided his first, downwards slash. His axe glowed purple and a sword skill erupted. The incoming horizontal blow whipped out at my hip, threatening to cleave me in two. The muscles in my feet exploded as I launched myself upwards and backwards into a back flip. Unfortunately, my acrobatics skill was not yet high enough to successfully complete a back flip, and I found myself sprawled on my stomach.

Despite being mentally stunned, I rolled myself backwards to avoid a spear that a moment later was jutting a foot into the ground where my head had been moments ago. Using the remaining momentum from my roll I spun myself up into a standing position, pushing Spear away from me with my right hand as he struggled to unearth his weapon.

I spun around to face the other enemy, but I froze when I realized he wasn't attacking me, but holding Crystal hostage.

"Stop moving or I hack your girlfriend," Axe shouted. I dropped to the ground as a spear was jabbed above me from behind. I rolled around the feet of the attacker and pushed myself up into the air using solely my arms. I hit the ground running when my feet made contact with the stone floor, desperate to leave this one-sided battle.

I glanced behind me as I fled like a coward, and saw Crystal staring at me blankly. There was no notion of disappointment, no expression of disbelief, just a passive face. That nothingness hurt me more than it should have, as it made me realize that she had never had any hope in me in the first place. To her, I had simply been tagging along.

I cursed as I ran, backtracking the path I had taken. Crystal could still be saved. I didn't know what those two were planning, but it definitely wasn't an outright murder, else she'd be dead already. No, they were planning something bigger, and although that thought horrified me, it also promised me time, and time gave me hope. All I needed to do was find Lily, who had my sword, and Red, who would have my back, and everything would be fine.

I was so deep in my thoughts that I failed to notice the shadowed figure glide up behind me and poke a dagger into my spine. I flinched, and my body stiffened from the sudden spike of pain. I planted my feet on the ground and began turning around to face my attacker with a roar. My feet wouldn't obey me however, and I found myself plummeting into the ground instead. I tried raising my arms to absorb the shock of my impact but was horrified when they remained limply by my side.

I crashed head first into the smooth stone surface and slid forwards for a meter before halting. My head crashed into a low boulder and I cried out in pain and shock as I watched my health bar drip down. Only 60% remained, and most of the damage received had been from my fall, not from the dagger. That's what I get from having a low vitality stat, I thought sadistically to myself.

I urgently tried to pick myself off the ground, but my body wouldn't respond, and all I could do was lay crookedly on the cold stone as my eyes flickered from side to side. I tried shouting, but found that the loudest sound I could make was barely more than a whisper. The whisper was loud enough for my attacker to begin a conversation however.

"That other girl tried to shout as well when I paralysed her, trust me when I say that no one except for me can hear you right now." The voice was low and hoarse, but the voice didn't sound very natural, as if the player was forcing himself to disguise his real voice.

"The other girl?" I asked weakly, but I already knew the answer.

"I think her brother said her name was Crystal. Such a sweet girl she was too. Never stopped crying for her brother until she was teleported off."

"Perilous," I growled as loud as I could, but it came out as a whimper more than anything else.

"Very good, it's true, it's all true," said Perilous, but I wasn't reminded of Perilous at all when the player said those words.

"Ricochet?" I asked, my voice shaking at the own preposterousness of the accusation. Ricochet had said those exact same words to me during the first floor boss battle. Who else could this player be?

The player laughed, a broken, hoarse laugh that made me shiver. "Ricochet's a fool, and I'm no fool. You'd be surprised how many players remember those words he spoke to you so long ago though."

"You're a Serious?" I asked, realizing why his voice was beginning to sound familiar. I had probably fought with this player during the previous floor bosses.

"Please, don't insult me. I don't have any wish to be named after you. I'm far superior to someone like you," The player said, his low voice rumbling as he spoke. I felt a foot against my side, and a rush of nausea as I was rolled onto my back. I could now see the player, but he was hooded and cloaked with his back turned to me. I might as well have been on my stomach again considering how much this told me.

"No, instead, please call me Perilous," the player said, and if I were not paralysed, I would have shivered in discomfort and fear. He began walking away, his back never leaving my point of view. When he was about ten meters away, my angle of view became great enough to see above his head, and I noticed in confusion that there was a green player mark above his head.

"You're not Perilous," I said, my voice hoarse from forcing words out in my paralysed state. "You've got no orange player marker. You couldn't have even stabbed me before, else you would no longer be green."

I could almost hear Perilous smirking. "I didn't attack you, it was 'friendly fire'. This system is very forgiving you see, and it just so happens that I need all the forgiveness I can get."

I couldn't believe there was such a loophole in the system. Sure, I could imagine friendly fire happening, and it would be unfortunate to be an orange player for two weeks over an accident, but look what it had led to. I was completely incapacitated.

"What about Crystal's brother then? That wasn't accidental, that was murder." My voice gave out at the end, and I realized I might no longer be able to speak in this paralyzed condition.

Perilous stopped, and I saw him hesitate as he pondered how to respond. When he did speak however, there was no hesitation in his voice.

"Ricochet's not the only one with knowledge on how to remove orange marks. The difference, is that my knowledge is correct," and with that Perilous made a hasty retreat. I tried to swear, but no sound came out, and the pain in my throat prevented me from trying again.

So instead I lay on the miserable, hard stone and prayed that someone would find me soon. I thought I was defenceless before without my sword, but now I truly knew what it meant to be defenceless. I began to feel the same kind of panic that Crystal must have felt when she was paralysed.

Crystal! I tried swearing again, and this time I ignored the painful results. She was still in danger, and I had completely forgotten to get any information about her from Perilous. Where the hell was Red! She had messaged me about fifteen minutes ago, which should have been plenty of time to catch up with me, especially with her speed.

I couldn't even send Red a message right now as my hands were completely limp. It was agonizing, frustrating, it was tearing at my mental state. I couldn't do anything at all. My vision began to fade and I began to blur the differences between reality and fantasy. My paralysis reminded me so much of my nightmares that I was beginning to lose control of my emotions.

Loud howls interrupted my nightmare. Or was it that the loud howls were part of my nightmare? I couldn't tell. Everything was blurring in my sheer horror. A lithe figure was running towards me, a giant sword held in their petite hands. If I could have I would have cried at the arrival of the witch who inhabits my darkest dreams. Why did Becka have to arrive now?

The howls were louder now, and I could recognize that they were distinctly wolf like. Becka ran closer to me, closing the distance between us shockingly fast. I tried to push myself away with my arms, but of course they were useless pieces of electronic data right now.

"Sirius! Sirius, wake up," The girl cried, and I squinted my eyes through the bloody haze as the voice pierced my thoughts. It was so familiar, and reassuring. If only I could grab onto the voice and it could pull me out of this damned nightmare.

The small girl turned around and stood protectively in front of me. "Go away!" She screamed, her voice crashing into my consciousness. "Just stay away from Sirius!"

I could feel something in my fingers. It was soft, and I gripped it with my fingers firmly. My finger's played with the material, and I realized that it was the black leather hilt of my Legion Sword. How had it arrived in my hand?

A roaring that sounded like rough stones grating together rumbled across the stone ground and through my body. "No, don't come near, please!" the girl screamed out again, as she stood bravely above my body. I recognized the voice, and I recognized the girl. It was Lily, and there were stone hounds advancing aggressively towards her.

I squeezed the hilt of my broadsword again, allowing the pleasant, reassuring feeling I was so accustomed to, to run through my body. A tingling spread through my body, beginning at my head and finishing at my toes, and I realized that I was free of the poison.

With a ferocious roar the closest Stone Hound leapt at Lily, stone spittle dripping from its marble teeth. It's jaws opened wide as it barrelled through the air at Lily who was not running in fear, but foolishly holding her ground. Foolish, but ever so brave.

I hooked my right foot around and into Lily's chest. I slammed her down harshly into my chest, and I winced as I heard the cry of pain leave her lips. She was in my arms now however, and safe from the pouncing wolf which had rocketed itself over my body and had just landed opposite me.

With my right hand I slammed my broadsword into the stone floor and watched with satisfaction as it penetrated half a foot. With my other arm I wrapped Lily snugly against my chest, and using my broadsword as a pivot I swung myself into an upwards fighting stance..

The second Stone Hound was barrelling through the air, it's concrete tongue lapping out of its chasm of a mouth. Unable to draw my sword in time to defend, and burdened down by Lily too much to dodge I had no choice but to tuck myself into a protective ball around lily. The stone wolf's teeth tore at my vulnerable back, and I screamed in pain as it followed up by raking it's sharp granite claws into my legs.

My health had dropped from 60% to 10%, and I realized I was lucky to even be alive in this situation. I had to do something now though; else I wouldn't be alive to tell my story of good fortune. The second Stone Hound had temporarily halted its attack on me, and I launched a forceful kick into its belly. My foot ached from kicking the giant lump of stone, and the wolf took no damage, but my strength stat was great enough to force it back tumbling several meters.

I could hear the first wolf snarling and I knew it was already beginning its next lunge at me. I needed to grab my sword, but Lily was gripping me far too strongly and the situation was far too difficult to wield a weapon. My morals ripped at me, but I had no choice but to shove Lily violently off of my chest with my left hand and with my right hand whip the legion blade out of the ground.

The sword screeched in protest as it left the ground, and cracks formed around it, but once I added my left hand to the hilt it swung swiftly out. Refusing to lose any momentum I began an uppercut strike on the charging Stone Hound. The tip of my blade dug into its stony flesh, and I yanked the sword upwards and over my head. The wolf, still imbedded in my blade, followed my swords path and crashed down onto the second wolf that had been about to rake my unprotected back.

Stone crumbled and waves of dust flew into the sky obscuring my vision. Two wolves could be heard snarling as they tried to dislocate themselves from each other. I breathed a sigh of relief as the situation reeled its way back into my favour. It didn't matter if I only had 10% health left. I fought my battles without being scratched. If I could do that on full health, I could do it on critical health.

I ran at the wolf on the left who was missing a large chunk of it's face, including it's whole right ear, and launched a Vertical Strike at it. The downward slash landed directly, and although it didn't kill the beast, it stunned it momentarily. I didn't hesitate in my attack, and raised my blade horizontally, and still moving forwards, activated Horizontal Bolt.

The world blurred as I tore sharply to the side, and my arms jutted at the impact of my sword slicing through the skull of the second Stone Hound. Pieces of stone fell loudly to the ground as the beast's head began disintegrating. All too soon the wolf let out a pathetic whimper and then shattered into colourful sparkles, completely disintegrating.

I switched my grip on the hilt of the sword so that they large blade was pointing downwards and southwards. As the stunned wolf recovered and scrambled towards me I slammed the tip of my weapon mightily through it's neck, pinning the wolf into the ground.

It let out a miserable howl before shattering and disappearing like it's pack mate. Not pausing for an instant I played with my inventory and downed three potions in quick succession. I was unsure as to whether multiple potions would heal me faster, but I desperately wanted my comforting green bar to return.

I yanked my broadsword out of the ground, but didn't sheathe it, and instead held it loosely with one hand in preparation for another assault if need be. I perked my ears in desperation to hear an incoming enemy, but heard nothing but a faint whimpering that tore my heart to pieces. Finally, sheathing my giant weapon, I stepped over to Lily.

I reached out to touch her arm, but hesitated, unsure if she would flinch at my contact. I had hurt her greatly twice in the past minute, and even if it was to save her life, I was unsure as to whether she would understand that.

"Are you alright Lily," I said, my voice tight as I feared an outbreak. I had grown so attached to her over the past two months, I couldn't bear to leave her now.

"I'm fine," she said softly, avoiding my face. She played with some gravel on the ground with one hand while her face ever so slowly turned upwards towards mine. There were tears in her eyes as she looked at me, and my heart missed a beat as sorrow poured out from her.

"Are you hurt Sirius," she asked, and I collapsed to the ground beside her in relief. She wasn't scared of me, just scared of the situation. I wrapped my arms around her in a tight, encompassing hug and I felt her own arms gingerly wrap themselves around my chest as she began making soft choking sounds. All too soon her arms had a pincer like grip around me, but I refused to say anything.

Lily wouldn't cry. She never cried. It was something her grandfather had imbedded into her. It was definitely not something the system programmed her not to do, I told myself forcefully, but something that her family had taught her, and something she lived by. Lily never cried, and we both pretended that she wasn't as her small body wracked in heaves against my chest.

Eventually I was forced to pull myself out of Lily's grasp. She was now composed and no longer in immediate fear of her life, and more urgent matter's called for my business.

"Lily, did you find Red?" I asked her, my voice rushed as I began recalling the damned situation I'd gotten myself into. Lily nodded softly, so I kept asking questions. "Where is Red then? Why aren't you with her?" I paused as I thought of something. "Actually, why are you here at all? You should have stayed back at The Quarry."

"But if I'd stayed behind you wouldn't have your sword," Lily said, trying to defend herself.

"I would, because you were meant to have given it to Red," I said.

"But Red isn't here right now, so it had to be me that gave it to you," Lily said, still defending herself. I sighed, realizing she was right. I didn't like that she had been in danger, but that was just me being selfish. Lily had been as brave as me tonight, and she had shown that she was responsible enough to be out here fighting with me in her own way.

"And thank the heavens that you were here," I said, ruffling her hair fondly. "Listen, I need to go save Crystal, she's in trouble. You can come with me but-"

"No," Crystal suddenly shouted, jumping to her feet. "You have to come with me, Red's in danger."

"Red? In danger?" I asked incredulously. Lily nodded her head urgently and grabbed my arm and begun dragging me off in the opposite direction from Crystal.

"Lily, stop. I can't go with you, I need to help Crystal," I shouted in a panic.

"But you need to help Red," Lily shouted back.

A loud howl interrupted our conversation, and I blanched as I noticed that the night sky had truly become dark, and that night was truly upon us. The wolves would change with the night and become stronger, faster and more fearsome. We couldn't stay where we were or we would be surrounded. I had to save someone.

But who was I going to save?

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**And whoaaww, a cliffhanger! I'm not usually into them, but this one felt so perfect. Please don't kill me, oh dear** **readers**.  
**And in regards to climbing back up this cliff, the next chapter will be rather... unique. I'm sure you'll realize what it is right away, and just know that if you like or dislike it, you're probably never going witness it from me again.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	27. Miscommunications or Promises of Murder

**Prenote: This chapter contains quite a few more... naughty words... then I usually use. I know most of you reader are mature people who won't blanch at them, but this is just a warning if that kinda vulgarity offends you. If it truly turns you off from reading this, send me a message and I can edit a "safe" version.**

* * *

Red's hair whipped around her and the makeshift curtain momentarily blurred her vision of the fierce sword raining down upon her. Hey green eyes darted back and forth, following the swords path, and her feet nimbly danced to and fro in an eloquent death dance. Her breath fell in heaves and throes despite the lack of need for oxygen in this technologic world.

Her right hand whipped out with her serrated, ivory dagger in a reverse grip and her light weapon collided soundly with the larger sword. Chips of Red's dagger shattered off of the blade in the impact, but her strength stat was great enough that she could equalize the force between the two weapons. The two opponents hissed at each other.

"You've been the cause of Sirius's suffering for far too long, Becka" Red said, snarling at her opponent.

Becka's hazel eyes flashed dangerously. "I don't know who you're talking about, but I will stop you for Richard's sake," Becka replied, her voice screeching in protest against Red.

The two girls launched themselves at each other again. Red's feet gracefully carried her along the ground as she slid in between Becka's defences and activated a three chain sword skill.

Sword Play

The first slash carried its way down Becka's left shoulder, and she cried out at the sudden burst of pain. Her sword arm flinched over to her injury, and it was this subconscious move that saved her life. Red's second slash impacted with the solid steel and Becka was pushed backwards from the overwhelming strength. Becka's round buckler then easily deflected the third chain of the attack, the pierce.

In retaliation, Becka threw her sword out sideways, activating the one handed sword skill, horizontal. Red lithely hopped backwards, completely avoiding the glowing sword, and once again there was space between the two fighters.

"I'll kill you for what you've done to my Richard," Becka shouted, but even she knew her threat was empty. Red was clearly levels above her. Becka had not landed a single blow, while her own health was at the half way mark.

"Kill me if you can," Red hissed back, "But I'm going to kill you first, and put a stop to Sirius's nightmares."

The two ran at each other, steel struck steel, and Red's flimsy dagger shattered. Becka attempted to press her advantage, but Red gracefully side stepped the vicious strike and withdrew a second dagger from beneath her cloak. Red's hood, which had once hidden her identity, was hanging loosely off her back, and her signature Red hair was visible for all to see.

Red landed two light cuts to Becka's side before jumping out of reach of the longer weapon. Becka panted at the exertion she was being put through. The pain expresser was tearing at her mental state, and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. Then she thought of Richard, and how he had been such a good friend to her in the past, and how this red haired bitch in front of her had ruined his life. When she thought of Richard her resolved strengthened, and she pushed herself back into battle. She would give her life for Richard's cause, and that was a worthy way to die wasn't it? No one could blame her then when she was dead and gone, and then she would finally be with Daniel again.

Red bent her legs sharply to avoid the vicious swing that had threatened to decapitate her. She didn't understand why Becka was fighting her with such battle lust. She didn't even know who the bloody hell Richard was, but for some reason this woman seemed to think she was to blame. Red swished her dagger at Becka's exposed arm and she grinned in bloodthirsty exhilaration as Becka's health bar dripped down ever closer to empty.

Red didn't understand why Becka was trying to kill her, but Red knew why she was going to kill Becka this dark night. For the past few days Red had heard Sirius's screams as his nightmares plagued him. Red had heard his pleas for mercy, his strangled cries and sobbing. She had heard him begging, fear entwined in his voice. For Red it had been shocking, it had been frightening, and it had angered her.

Even after Red had tortured and ruined Sirius's life over the course of two weeks, Sirius had never broken down, had never cried, had never given up. He had always remained standing up straight, his shoulders wide, his head held high. He was truly his namesake, Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, the star that everyone can see when they look up and imagine who they want to be like and what they want to achieve.

But when he fell asleep Sirius was everything that he wasn't during the day. He plead with fear in his voice, and he begged like a dog. What was worse was that he threw away all his pride, all his morals, and all his promises. He threw them all away at a sadistic bitch that went by the name of Becka. Red and Sirius didn't see eye to eye, and to call the two of them friends would be sorely incorrect, but Red knew that she owed him a favour after ruining his reputation in this world. Perhaps if she could stop his nightmares she would be able to forget this debt she was in.

"To save Sirius, I will kill you," Red said softly. It wasn't a threat, but a personal declaration of what she was about to enact.

Becka didn't understand why Sirius was involved in this. She had seen him for the first time by the Memorial Stone several days ago when she was visiting Daniel with Rhythm. It seemed like that man had known her, and deep inside Becka felt that she knew him as well. But rational memory served her first, and she could not remember that man called Sirius from anytime in her life.

What Becka did understand was that Red had stolen one of her precious friends from her. Richard had always been there for Becka and Daniel. He was not one of the arrogant guys that tried to steal the girl away from the guy, but rather he pushed them closer together. Eventually Becka realized that she could even flirt openly with Richard, and the two of them would laugh about it, before he finally pushed her back to Daniel.

Richard had become her confidant. She was able to tell him things she had trouble telling anyone else. She loved Daniel, and she had trusted him with her life, but sometimes it's because you love someone so much that you can't bear to talk about certain things. Richard never told anyone the secrets she confided in him, and he never once broke a promise he made. Richard was a friend Becka had never planned to lose.

But here was this red haired bitch that had torn Richard away from her. Rhythm had told her the story, about how this bitch had wrongly accused Richard of murder, and had gone far enough to even try murdering him. How could anyone accuse Richard of murder? It was preposterous, but Red had done it, and now Richard couldn't see anyone in this world, and was forced to hide.

Rhythm had told her this, and Becka could tell that Rhythm was missing the company of his best friend. His eyes lost their usual humour when he spoke of Richard, and when Becka asked if they could search for him Rhythm always sadly shook his head and told her that it wasn't safe. Becka didn't understand what wasn't safe about it, but she trusted Rhythm almost as much as Richard, and so she listened to him.

Now Becka had the opportunity to help Richard. She could kill Red, and then Red would no longer be able to pursue him, and he would be free to live his life. It would be wondrous. They could be reunited again. It was Becka's one and sole wish in this hell of a world she was living on, to be reunited with everyone again. It could be done. It had to be done. Perhaps they could even save Daniel somehow. If anyone could do it, Becka knew that Richard could.

Red's dagger leapt out at Becka's elbow, and the thin scratch it left drained drops of Becka's health bar. It was obvious that Red was going to win. She was faster on her feet, had more battle experience and simply had greater reflexes. Really, the battle was one sided, and had been since the beginning.

Becka fought fiercely, but it wasn't enough. As Red applied pressure Becka began stumbling backwards. Red's serrated dagger whipped to the side and knocked Becka's buckler out of the way and Before Becka could recover Red had already activated a sword skill, Linear Stab. The dagger that was bathed in red light rushed towards Becka's exposed stomach. Her eyes saw death reflected in the dagger, and as she resigned herself to her demise all she could think about was Richard.

Becka was roughly strewn onto the ground as a solid mass hit her from behind. A two handed sword swung upwards above her body and connecting with the incoming sword skill. The newcomer's move wasn't finished however, and the second attack was a vertical slash upon the unprotected body of Red. She was unable to dodge due to the lag time of her own sword skill, and she cried out in pain as the large sword ripped down her chest. Her once full health bar was lowered to 40% in one solid hit. The next hit would be a sure kill.

Becka felt elated. It was Richard. It had to be Richard. Richard had always been there for her in the past, so why wouldn't he save her now? She looked up in adoration at the imposing figure cloaked in black with a large two handed sword in his hands.

Becka's heart fell. It wasn't Richard.

Red felt fear run through her body as Rhythm lowered himself into a battle stance and prowled towards her. This was Rhythm, the one player in this world who truly scared her. Red had once told Sirius that she was scared of getting in Rhythm's way else he would dispose of her without qualm. Red had just attacked Rhythm's girlfriend. Her thin arms began shivering uncontrollably when she realized that Rhythm would not leave with anything less than her life.

Rhythm suddenly broke into a short gallop and Red was unprepared for his sudden, primal attack. Her serrated dagger shattered immediately and she was forced to roll backwards. Rhythm's claymore was already falling upon her as she stood up and hastily withdrew her third and final dagger. She deflected the powerful downwards slash and leapt forwards while activating Sword Play.

It was a desperate ploy. She was praying that her high dexterity stat would result in critical hits that supplied high critical damage. Red was too scared to allow the fight to wage on for a long time, so she had decided to finish it with this sword skill. One way or another the battle would be over.

All three moves struck solidly, but not a single was a critical. Rhythm had raised his left arm so that his steel capped vambraces prevented any criticals. The powerful move still tore away 40% of his health, and the final pierce pushed him back several meters, but it was over for Red. Her body was not yet responding from the lag time of the sword skill and Rhythm was already preparing his next attack.

Rhythm's body was tipping towards the ground and his sword, which was pointing behind him, was covered in a murky black light. The next instant Red lost sight of his body. She could tell he was accelerating towards her at an incredible rate but she could see nothing except a black, murky blur. It was eerily like watching a ghost, and the midnight black ghost in front of her looked horrifyingly demonic. Red stared, and her eyes held defeat and acceptance that she was watching her life end. Surprisingly, she didn't feel angry or sad at the unfairness and cruelty of life. The only thing she felt within her was a twinge of regret, as if there was something in her life she had meant to accomplish before this moment arrived. She wished she had said goodbye to Sirius before she was to die.

White light rushed by, and Red could have sworn that a shining star had rocketed by her. The white star collided with the black ghost and sparks flew out dangerously while metal screeched and swords collided. Neither black nor white was pushed back, instead both held their ground. Giant, two handed swords swung above each players heads, and with each blade still basked in light, one sword white and one sword black, the weapons collided. Dust rose up around them and a faint wind rippled outwards, playing with Red's cloak.

Red's heart was pumping as rapidly as the system would allow it. She had been saved. A shining star had saved her, had pulled her away from the grasp of death. She stared in awe at the unmistakable back of her savior. They were the wide, proud shoulders that could only belong to Sirius.

The back of his dirty blond hair rustled in the soft wind, but the black cloak that he always wore around him covered the rest of his features. Red frowned at the black clothing that Sirius wore. Black didn't suit him at all. Red understood that the coat had some exceptional enchantments on it, but what Sirius really needed was an outfit made of pure white. She almost laughed at her own girlyness when she realized that she was fantasizing about clothes in such a critical situation.

Rhythm's eyes held a look of shock and betrayal. He had never expected to be fighting his best friend. He had always been helping Sirius from the shadows. Even now, removing Red from the game could have astounding effects on helping Sirius recover his reputation. Rhythm would never have considered murder, but after watching Red almost kill Becka, Rhythm knew that he had no choice. Red must be dealt with.

So then why was Sirius protecting her? Rhythm could read Sirius perfectly, and right now when Rhythm looked deep in Sirius's eyes he understood the frightening, powerful message.

"Leave her alone!"

Rhythm couldn't understand why Sirius's own eyes held the same look of betrayal that his did. The usually humorous, but thoughtful, gray eyes that were flecked with blue were currently hardened in resolve. Something had changed his friend, and he didn't know what.

Becka was staring up at Rhythm's new opponent, and she couldn't believe her eyes. Tears were dripping slowly at the unbelievable sight. It was Richard! Richard was right in front of her. They were finally reunited, just as she wished, but it was all so horribly wrong. Why was he fighting Rhythm? They were best friends, how could that have changed. Even more confusing for Becka was that she couldn't possibly understand why Richard would be protecting Red, the woman who had ruined his life. Nothing made sense to Becka anymore, and she finally broke down. Tears flooded down her face as her emotions bubbled up inside of her.

Rhythm could hear Becka's tears from behind him, and he resolutely made up his mind. This was all Red's fault, and he would end this by ending Red's life.

"Move out of the way Sirius, I don't want to fight you," Rhythm snarled, murderous intent layering his voice.

Red panicked when Sirius began to move. This wasn't Sirius, Sirius would never leave someone who was in need. She was reassured immediately when she realized that Sirius was backing up closer to her, to stand guard over her prone figure. Of course, this was Sirius, he would never leave someone in need alone.

"Why won't you fucking move!" Rhythm screamed as he lunged at Sirius, his claymore raised above his head in preparation for a brutal slash. Sirius refused to move from his position in front of Red. Even when Rhythm's blade shone in darkness and tumbled down upon Sirius, he held his ground. Sirius raised his left arm above his head in a defensive manner, and Rhythm's sword skill cleaved the limb right off.

Sirius's health bar dropped from full health instantly to critical red, a telltale sign of his ridiculously low vitality stat. Rhythm's face showed a look of surprise. In his own rush to attack Sirius he had forgotten about the delay effect of sword skills. He had not expected Sirius to utilize this within a battle by sacrificing a whole limb.

Sirius's legion blade shook softly in his right hand, his strength stat barely great enough to hold the sword upright with one hand. Before Rhythm could recover from the sword skill and back away out of Sirius's reach the two handed broadsword was impaled into his stomach. Rhythm watched in horror as his health decreased from 60% to the critical red 10%.

With a strong kick to the gut Sirius both pulled his sword out and pushed Rhythm back several meters. Rhythm stumbled backwards and struggled to regain his balance. When he finally did he saw that Sirius's weapon had dropped to the ground, and he was cradling the stump where his left arm had been. Silent tears of pain dripped from his eyes, a reminder of the horrendous pain system implemented in the world of SAO

"What the fuck are you all doing?" Sirius cried out, his voice catching in his own tears. "Why are you all trying to fucking kill each other? Don't you have any notion of what you're doing?" Tears continued to drip silently down his face, and every player in his midst began to feel the horror of the deed that they had been about to perform.

Rhythm sheathed his claymore slowly, guilt pulsing through his veins. "I'm sorry Sirius-"

"I don't want to fucking here it!" Sirius interrupted. "Just leave, please, and take that girl with you," he said, gesturing to Becka.

"I…" Rhythm began, but his voice died off as he realized he had nothing to say. He silently walked over to Becka and helped her off the stone floor, and then without looking back the two of them trudged away, walking in a directionless path.

When they were out of vision Sirius's willpower finally gave out and he collapsed to the ground, loud sobs escaping from his mouth. His right hand still cradled the stump where his left arm used to be, and tears ran freely down his face.

"Why does this have to happen to me," He cried out at the heavens, his body sprawled against the ground. "Why the fuck do these things have to happen to me!"

* * *

**And man did I have fun writing this. I know it was pretty unorthodox with the change from first person to third person, and the fact that it wasn't from the view point of Sirius/Richard but of pretty much every other character, but I couldn't help it. The chapter worked sooo much better and was so much more exciting that if I'd kept to the first person tactic.**

**Send me a review/message to tell me how you think it went. If you disliked it, don't worry, I can't really imagine me having to do a scene like this again in this story, but I did have fun writing it, so your words do count still.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	28. The Introduction For Death

I looked up at the dark, miserable sky, where not even a star could be seen through the haze and the clouds. I still clutched at the stump on my arm, but the pain was beginning to numb. The SAO system was ironically very merciful, and although the arm would take two hours to regrow, the initial pain would soften to a dull itch after just a few minutes. I supposed that not even Kayaba was sick enough to torture the injured players.

As the pain began to fade I realized that my face was wet, and with my remaining arm I rubbed the moisture from my face. I looked over at Red who was watching me intently and carefully.

"I didn't realized it had rained," I said lamely.

"It hadn't," she replied bluntly.

"Ouch, you're meant to let me keep my pride there," I said back to her, and a ghost of a smile flickering on her face. It was quiet again, and I found my thoughts wandering. It was difficult to focus on what I should do. What had I been doing again? I couldn't quite remember.

"Thank you," Red said softly, "for saving me."

"Don't think I did it for you," I said, the harsh words coming out before I could stop them. "You're just as guilty as they are for fighting. What the hell do you think this is? A game?" I was glad she didn't laugh at the irony of that statement. I wasn't in the mood to be laughed at.

"I'm…" she paused, thinking of what to say, "I'm sorry then. I didn't mean for you to fight your friend."

I sighed heavily, the horrid memory returning to my mind and dragging my heart down. "I didn't mean to fight him either."

I glanced around, looking for something to distract me, but all I found was rock and stone. Thoughts of the fight kept resurfacing in my mind, and eventually I felt compelled to talk about it.

"Why were you fighting them?" I asked. Red was silent and looked like she was not going to answer. I cleared my throat loudly and looked at her sternly. This was one answer I was going to get from her.

"Becka wanted to kill me because I'm the player that ruined your life in this world, and tried to murder you multiple times," Red replied, her voice layered with guilt. I felt guilty myself for forcing this out of Red, but I had to know the reasons.

"That explains why Becka was fighting you, but that's not what I asked. Why were you fighting them?" I asked again.

This time Red's green eyes avoided mine altogether. Seconds grew longer until I once again cleared my throat and she began to speak.

"Because in your nightmares Becka's the woman who tortures you every night," Red said, her eyes never meeting mine.

"And?" I asked, prompting her.

"I thought that if I killed her you would be saved from your nightmares." Red's voice was nothing more than a whisper, and I could tell she was desperately holding back her emotions. I had to find out more though. This still wasn't enough.

"Do you still think that killing her would save me from my dreams?" I asked, and relief flooded through me when she shook her head. "Good," I said, "I guess we've all learned a lesson then."

I stood up, but quickly fell back down to one knee when I lost balance due to my missing limb. I growled, and tried again, except more slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves. With much effort I was finally standing up, precariously balanced, but Red was still sitting on the ground looking defeated and miserable.

"I forgive you, you know," I said to her, and her wide green eyes looked up at me in astonishment. "It doesn't mean I'll forget. I will probably always remember this side of you," I said warningly, but I held out my good hand to her in a gesture of friendship. "But I forgive you."

Red smiled weakly at me, grabbed onto my arm, and pulled herself up. Unfortunately, with only one arm I quickly lost my balance again, and we both tumbled into the ground, landing side by side. As we both lay on the ground looking up at the miserable sky I could hear Red sniffle. I couldn't help but give a small smile at witnessing Red display a humane emotion. Sometimes she seemed too emotionless, and if I wasn't there at times to fluster her, I fear that she would never display feeling.

"I told you it was raining," I said, to which I heard a soft snort in response. Once again, I made the slow journey from lying down to standing upright on two feet. This time I decided to let Red make her own way up, and after a minute of waiting she was finally standing by my side. I looked her over to make sure she was all right. Apart from a pink tinge around her eyes she seemed perfectly normal. Normal, except for the orange player marker above her head.

"Oh damn it all to hell," I swore to myself as I stared at the marker.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with my face?" Red asked in a panic.

"No, no, your face is fine. It's much worse than that. You have an orange marker," I said, and I watched her carefully. Her eyes darted up above her head once, then twice. Her face changed from an expression of shock, to disgust, and then finally to fear.

"Oh no, they're going to hunt me down and kill me," Red said to herself.

"No they won't," I said firmly, "If they try they'll have to come through me first! Besides, you've been hiding for two months already, another two weeks isn't going to be that hard is it?" Red couldn't argue with my logic, but her face was still crestfallen. I guessed that two more weeks of solitude might actually be incredibly hard for her.

"I'm sorry," I added softly, "I'll help you as much as I can."

"I know you will," she said, and when I raised an eyebrow she corrected herself. "I mean, I knew that you would be willing to help me. I mean… I…" She was getting incredibly flustered so I stepped in.

"How about thanks?"

She smiled gratefully at me, and I realized that it was one of her few, rare, sincere smiles that truly reached her eyes. "Thank you Sirius," she said earnestly. Smiling shyly, she broke eye contact with me and began looking around the landscape. I continued to watch her, so I noticed when the small smile on her face changed to a frown.

"How come Rhythm and Becka don't have an orange marker?" She asked angrily.

"I'm guessing that Becka couldn't touch you during that fight," Red nodded in confirmation. "Then she's completely innocent by SAO's standards."

"Well… I guess that makes sense then… Then what about Rhythm? He slashed me across the chest!" She said indignantly.

"Ah, well, have you heard of Friendly Fire?" She shook her head. "The first hit isn't classified as a criminal action, but as friendly fire. It's to prevent players from getting orange markers in accidental situations."

"But this wasn't accidental!" Red complained.

I sighed heavily. "I know, but the system doesn't know that. Rhythm struck you just once, so he only got the friendly fire warning. I'm guessing you cut those two up quite a number of times." She nodded, embarrassed and guilt ridden.

"I wonder why they were here?" Red murmured to herself.

"Probably because I told them to come," I said, answering her question. When she gave me a look that demanded more I expanded my answer. "As I was leaving The Quarry I walked by Becka and I asked her to find Rhythm and get him to help me. I guess they ran into you before they found Crystal and I…"

My voice trailed off as I realized what I had just said. "Oh. Shit, Crystal!" I shouted suddenly, and Red's voice echoed mine, minus the swearing. I looked at her. "Did Lily tell you everything?"

"Pretty much. Basically she's being blackmailed with promises of seeing her dead brother, right?" Red asked, confirming what she'd heard. I nodded, her simplified explanation pretty much correct.

"Where's Lily?" Red asked, suddenly concerned.

"Safe," I said reassuringly. "I hope," I added under my breath. Unfortunately Red's Eavesdropping skill allowed her to hear that perfectly.

"What do you mean "I hope"?" Red thundered loudly.

"What I mean was that I sent her back to The Quarry, and all I can do is hope that she gets back there safe. It was too dangerous to leave her out here, and she's not fast enough to follow me right now." The worried look on Red's face never left. Although I was relived that she was genuinely worried about Lily, now was really not the time.

"She's a smart girl, alright, I know she'll get back just fine. Right now we need to help Crystal."

Red shook her head slowly, but she eventually relented. "So where is Crystal?" She asked, and I winced when I realized I didn't have a suitable answer.

"I don't know. I was hoping you'd have the tracking skill."

Red visibly brightened. "You're in luck, I have that skill. I have you to thank for that."

"Me?" I asked incredulously.

She looked away when she realized what she had said. "Yeah, you. I trained it up so I could track you down when I thought you were a… a murderer."

"Well, makes sense, I guess," I muttered under my breath. "Can we get started tracking then? I don't know how much time we have."

Red hesitated. "Well, sure, but I just can't start tracking from here. I need to start from a place where I know she's been recently."

"That's fine, I can take you to the place where we split up." I opened up my inventory and activated the map. After examining it for a few second I banished it back to my inventory and with a short, "let's go," I ran as fast as I could with a missing limb. It was reassuring that Red purposely slowed down to run at my side, but I was concerned that at this rate me might make it to Crystal too late. When I voiced my concerns out loud Red turned to look at me, surprise on her face and asked for what possible reason could I have to send a woman out on her own. That shut me up.

Red followed tracks along the ground that were invisible to me, but when I quizzed her on where we were going, she bluntly ignored me and simply pointed at the path she was supposedly following. I simply learned to shut my mouth and trust her to lead the way.

As we ran I explained about Perilous and my near death experience. I saw Red's lips press firmly together and her green eyes harden, but otherwise she appeared unsurprised. I mentioned that Perilous might be at the meeting spot with Crystal and I warned her not to fight him. He had far too many tricks up his sleeves. Although Red agreed that he was dangerous, she never promised not to fight him, which worried me greatly.

But before I could worry too much about this she began muttering that we were nearby, and when I strained my ears I could hear the faint bickering of two male players. Although I hadn't memorized their voices, I was certain that it was Axe and Spear. From the direction of their voices, it sound like they were behind the large boulder that protruded about fifty meters ahead.

"Any plans?" Red whispered.

"Let's just run in, grab her and run," I responded, eager to do something.

"Smooth," she muttered, but didn't argue. "I don't suppose you can fight with one arm?" she asked.

I looked at my stump. "Ehh, probably not. I'm sure I can handle a one on one with those guys though."

She just gave me a cold, judging stare with her shocking green eyes. "If you say so. However, I'm already an orange player, so you let me do the attacking? You can help Crystal escape." I nodded in agreement to the plan, glad I wasn't actually going to be doing any fighting. "Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," I confirmed, and we sprinted towards the large boulder. Red had her third and last dagger drawn but I kept my broadsword sheathed for the moment. I was worried about my ability to run normally while holding the giant weapon in just one hand. Besides, as Red had so bluntly pointed out, I wasn't meant to be fighting.

We sprinted around the corner and found a rather disturbing scene. Axe and Spear had both of their weapons pointing at Crystal who was kneeling on the ground in submission.

"Tell me where my brother is!" Crystal demanded fearlessly. Despite being on her knees she portrayed an aura of confidence. The two male players seemed to be ignorant of this however, and were simply flaunting their new position of power.

"Not until you make your menu public," the taller one with the axe said.

"Yeah, yeah, we wan' ta play with your inventory, change ya into s'more comfortable clothes, if ya know wha' I mean," Spear said eagerly

"Those sick people," Red whispered through gritted teeth.

"Hey you sick freaks, over here!" I shouted loudly, causing the two players to jump in surprise. Spear actually dropped his weapon in surprise, and his hands scrambled against the stony floor in an attempt to retrieve it. Axe reacted faster and was moving towards Red as she advanced towards his defenceless partner. I flinched as she unleashed a barrage of stabs into his heavily armoured chest. The attacks didn't kill, but they sure as hell must have hurt as Axe lost a large fraction of his health.

I let Red deal with the freaks while I edged around the fight in order to get to Crystal. I reached her without any distractions, grabbed her arm and yanked her roughly.

"Come on Crystal, we're leaving," I said, but to my surprise she fought back.

"No, I'm staying until I find my brother," She replied stubbornly.

"He's not here Crystal, it's a set up," I said, annoyed.

"Can you prove that?" She asked, looking at me directly in the eyes with her own fierce violet irises. I didn't have a response, and before I could try to formulate one I was forced to duck and roll backwards as a scythe whipped over my head. I glanced up at the wielder of the weapon and blanched when I recognized the dark cloak. He was a player who still had a green player marker, but I wondered how long that would remain true.

"Red, back off, Perilous is here," I shouted as I hopped backwards, struggling to keep balance. I was relieved when she didn't attempt to attack him and instead retreated with me, reluctantly leaving Axe and Spear alive.

Axe and Spear's health bars were both in the yellow and they gratefully stepped backwards in the protection of Perilous. They glanced at each other and decided to point their weapons at Crystal, returning her to her original occupation as hostage. I swore silently as I realized how hopeless things looked.

"What were you two doing?" Perilous said, his low, hoarse voice rumbling angrily.

"We were just going to have some fun with her, before we killed her, Perilous," Axe said.

"Yeah, yeah, an' then these guys rushed in an' mess'd ev'rything up!" Spear added.

"And do you even know who she is" Perilous asked, and even I wondered what he meant. Was Crystal someone incredibly important to this world, or just to Perilous?

Both Axe and Spear had blank looks on their faces, and Perilous lips twisted unpleasantly. "I see," Perilous said simply, and I strained my ears to recognize the voice. Although the voice sounded the same as the last time I heard it, I failed to find that nostalgic feeling I had last time Perilous had spoken. Perhaps it had all been my imagination when I thought I recognized the voice from somewhere.

I looked at Red who despite looking furious, appeared to be lost as to what do. I decided there was only one last option. I dropped onto my knees and lowered my head to Perilous.

"Please let Crystal go, I'm begging you. We'll do anything you want." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Red look at me in amazement, but she never dropped to the ground like I did.

"There's nothing you can do for us," said Axe.

"An' nuthin we wan' from ya," Spear added.

"Actually, there is something you can do," Perilous said thoughtfully, and before Axe or Spear could turn around to voice their objections the glowing green scythe whipped out horizontally and decapitated both players.

Crystal, who was still kneeling on the ground, was completely unscathed from the scythe as it flew above her head, but the same could not be said for Axe and Spear, who exploded into colourful, sparkling tetrahedrals, polygons and octagons. The lights touched the stone floor and winked out of existence, and I knew that at some location in the other world two Nervegears would be blasting out microwaves into two players brains, effectively turning them into mush.

Death would visit two people twice in two different worlds.

Perilous looked up at the sky, and nodded in satisfaction as his player marker changed from green to orange.

"Excellent," the new orange player said, seemingly satisfied with his criminal tattoo, "Now, here's what I want you to do."

Red was struggling not to cry out in horror. This man had unceremoniously killed two players in cold blood, and did appear to harbour any remorse. Perilous was truly a monster of evil. I felt the same as Red did, sick to the core, but I managed to keep my emotions under slightly better control.

"Not until you give Crystal back to us," I demanded.

"She's free to go to you," Perilous said, and he opened his arms wide in a god like gesture for Crystal to leave. She remained where she was however and looked up at Perilous.

"Not until you tell me where my brother is," She demanded.

Perilous pondered this statement before responding. "Your brother's dead you fool, I killed him myself. Now get over to your friends before I have second thoughts." Now that Crystal had heard her answer she had no hesitations of fleeing from the murderer and running to the meager protection that Red and I could offer.

"Now, what I want you to do," Perilous began again.

"We're not killing anyone for you," Red shouted at him in disgust.

"That's perfectly fine, I wasn't planning on letting you take my kills anyway," he said in his low, hoarse, voice that sent shivers down my spine. "No, what I want you three to do is much simpler. I want you to advertise me. I want my name to become known. I want my name to become feared, and I want my name to attract those like me."

"You want publicity. What for?" I asked, determined to figure out his plan.

Perilous released a long, hoarse laugh. "I want followers, is that so bad, Sirius, the most Serious of all players. If I wasn't mistaken I'd say you're beginning to recruit your own band of powerful followers." He said this while exaggeratedly waving a hand over in Red's direction. Red snarled back at him.

"I'm not his follower," she said viciously.

"Not yet you're not, but it's just a matter of time I suspect," Perilous replied cryptically. "That is all I have to say at this time. I expect to hear about myself in the near future. Please, do not, disappoint me." Perilous turned away from us, scythe still in hand and began to walk away.

"Wait," I shouted at him, "you never answered my question, why do you want publicity? What do you want to do with your followers?"

Perilous never stopped walking away, but he still responded. "You're a perceptive one Sirius, always asking the questions that need to be asked. Unfortunately, I just can't answer this one yet." His voice was slowly fading as he walked further away. "Perhaps, next time. Yes, perhaps next time we meet you will know why," and with that Perilous disappeared into the gloom of the night.

* * *

**Another chapter, and so soon too, oh how I love to post these things. I just hope that you guys aren't getting headaches reading it.**

**I have finished my cryptic and eery introduction of Perilous. I thought long and hard of how to bring him into the story, and I don't know if this quite brings out how I want his character to be, but it's the best I could think of.**

**Anyway, keep reading, I'm loving the reviews/favorites/follows I have so far. It makes me feel oh so loved :P**

**Also, can anyone tell me why the chapter "Aricana" has almost triple the hits and visitors compared to any other chapter in my whole story. It's really quite the phenomena I can't figure out...**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	29. A Relaxing End To The Night

All was silent as Red, Crystal and I stood beside one another beneath the cloudy night sky. I resisted the urge to scratch at the stump of my arm that had yet to regrow. I was afraid to be the first to shift our motionless body. We were all safe, it had been a horribly long hour and we still had yet to recover from it, but we were alive. We were safe, but I was scared. Perilous was unlike any player I had yet to meet.

I shivered, involuntarily breaking the tranquillity. Red noticed, but mistook my shivering as a response to the chilly wind.

"Come on," she said, "Let's head back, I want to see if Lily got back alright."

Crystal nodded in agreement, and I was all to eager to check on Lily's safety, so we began to slowly walk back to The Quarry. A few vicious Stone Hounds enraged with the arrival of the night attacked us on the way, but Red was more than strong enough to deal with them herself. Crystal would have been hard pressed to defeat two at the same time, and I could barely hold my broadsword with one hand, so it was terribly fortunate that Red was here.

Eventually we reached the entrance to The Quarry, and thus the entrance to a safe zone. I spied several guards clad in stone armour guarding the entrance, and I sighed at the conundrum we were now in.

"Those guards are going to attack you on sight," I said to Red who looked confused. "You're an orange player now, remember?"

"Right," she whispered, "It's surprisingly easy to forget that." She hesitated as she decided what she was going to do.

"How did you get around guards when you were orange Sirius?" Crystal asked, violet eyes intrigued.

"I raised my Hiding skill so that I could hide from them. That, and I used the rooftops as much as possible. Although the guards are ferociously strong, they're pretty basic AI's." Red hung on to every word I said, and she began nodding slowly to herself.

"Alright then, you two make your way to Sirius's place, I'll meet you there." Red said.

"How?" Crystal asked, worry evident in her voice.

"Well, unlike Sirius I don't have the Hiding skill, so I'll just have to race them there." Red said, anticipation in her voice at the thought of a race.

"Alright, just make sure they can't break into my place," I replied grimly. I didn't want to leave Red alone, but I didn't want to drag myself into this kind of experience again, so I simply let her be.

"Come on Crystal, let's go," I said, as I grabbed her arm.

"What, no fancy names or arm grabbing game?" She said teasingly.

"Apologies, my lady," I said, but the humour of the situation hadn't quite reached me yet. Crystal appeared to notice and didn't pursue any further. When I crossed into the safe zone I looked back at Red. She had her cloak pulled back up around her head, with her red hair tucked within. Only her green eyes were visible, but that was enough for me to recognize her.

"We'll see you there then," I said lamely, to which the hooded figure simply nodded and began pacing, waiting until Crystal and I were out of sight.

Crystal and I walked silently down the alleys, both deep in thought. We passed by several cheery, well lit buildings, and the sounds and smells of dinner could be sensed. My stomach grumbled loudly at the thought of food.

"Right, we were going to go out and eat dinner, weren't we?" I said despondently. It felt like an incredibly long time ago that we had decided that

Crystal sighed heavily, her own hood slipping down her face slightly, resulting in her having to pull it back up. "Yeah, and it was going to be and expensive dinner too."

"You were serious about that, weren't you, you little cheapskate," I said, a smile forming on my face. It was hard to remain depressed forever.

"Only because you promised! And talking about cheapskate, you owe me two instalments of money,"

"From what," I asked innocently.

"1000 col and 750 col for distracting Red twice tonight,"

"I thought that was just one payment of 1000 col?" I said, uneager to be handing over money right now.

"Now look who's the cheapskate, do you even know what I had to do to distract Red?"

I smirked at this. "Not exactly, but from what I heard, it had something to do with you undressing."

She smacked my arm, fortunately her strength was far less then Red, and I barely felt more than a sting. "I wasn't undressing, just taking off my cloak."

"Then what was so distracting beneath that cloak, hmm?"

She laughed, and then lent over coyly to me. "Do you want to know?"

"Depends, how much will it cost me?" I said to her jokingly, and we both broke into a fit of laughter. I was in fact highly curious as to what was beneath her cloak, but I thought it would be better to wait until she initiated the… undressing. Of course, that was assuming that day ever occurred.

I looked across the street and discovered a bakery that was still open. It must be classified as a restaurant, I supposed, therefore it was allowed to stay open longer than normal shops.

"How about this," I said to Crystal, trying to make a deal. "I buy dinner tonight, you get to choose something extra you want to eat at the bakery, and I pay you one instalment."

She pretending to ponder the proposal seriously, but I could see her lips curled up in an attempted restrained smile.

"You pay the 1000 col instalment, and we forget about the 750 col one," she held out her hand. "Deal?"

I sighed, but reached over and shook her hand. "Deal, now let's buy this food before you steal more money off of me."

Crystal skipped happily inside the bakery and began selecting a handful of foods she wanted to eat. She ignored my protests of her only allowed to choose one item, so I quickly gave up and purchased four meat pies for our dinner. Crystal quickly dropped her assorted desserts in front of the NPC baker before I could sneak off without paying for her food. I groaned when the items came to a cost of 1600 col. I should have realized it would have been expensive. Food that doesn't taste like stale bread is always expensive in SAO, especially food that can be stored in the inventory for a long while, like bakery goods.

Still, after tonight I was willing to go all out. There was no point hoarding money if you were dead the next day.

"Why did you but four pies?" Crystal asked as she began to munch on a cream puff.

"Because there's four of us eating," I replied.

"There's you, me, Red and…?"

"Lily," I said, annoyed that she would have forgotten about my adopted little sister. Crystal looked rather surprised by my answer.

"You mean that little AI actually eats. Can't you just let it be? It's not like you or me where we actually need food."

"_She_ eats just like any other player in this world, got it? And for your information, we don't actually need any of this food. This food is just electronic data confusing our brain into thinking we are eating nourishing food. It doesn't matter how much you stuff yourself with cream puffs, if they forget to feed your body in the real world you'll still die of starvation."

Crystal stared guiltily at the cream puff in her hands. "It's fine, just finish the damn thing already," I said, and she popped the remaining treat in her mouth, but she chewed it with less vigour then before. Perhaps she was trying to determine if it was "real" or not. Those kinds of boundaries had blurred a long time ago for me.

"What do you think they're doing with our bodies in the real world?" Crystal asked softly.

"It is kind of taboo to talk about that, you know?" I said, looking at her from the side of my eye.

"Yeah, but you don't care about that do you?" She said.

"Well, truthfully, you're right, I find the whole secrecy thing about the real world kind of stupid. It's not like a religious afterlife or something where we don't have physical evidence it exists. We used to live there about two months ago. In fact, we still live there. We just live in two places at once now." I sighed, my rant ending.

"In response to your question, I'd guess that we're all crowded very close together in a hospital in Central Melbourne. We'd all be on drips to keep nutrients flowing in, so there's probably not much fear of starving. What I'd be more worried about is the lack of exercise and the deterioration of muscles. When we get back I'm rather worried that we're not going to be much more than skin, bones and vital organs."

Crystal began looking very worried as she began picturing the scenario I'd described. I sighed, and relented a bit. "It won't be as bad as you imagine. Muscle can be rebuilt, and the most important organ is still functioning perfectly." She looked at me, curious as to which organ it was. "Think about it, how are we sensing this world?" I said, urging her to come up with the answer herself.

"The brain?" She guessed timidly.

"Correct, the brain. Once we leave this world, our brain will be as sharp as it ever was. Perhaps even sharper for some people."

Crystal watched her feet as we kept walking closer to my place. "You speak as if we're actually going to leave this world," she said miserably.

"Of course we are," I said quickly, admonishing her harshly.

"But how can we leave, when there are players like Perilous around?" She asked, her voice still miserable and devoid of her usual playfulness.

"Listen, not even Perilous wants to be trapped in this world forever," I said in an attempt to reassure her.

"Can you prove that?" She asked. She was a very cynical person indeed when it came to personal issues.

But she had a point, and I breathed out heavily before responding. "No I can't," I said, defeated.

"Perhaps if my brother were still here we could…" Crystal's voice trailed off to a murmur. I looked at her painfully, wishing there was something I could do, anything, but there wasn't.

"Come on, Red's probably waiting for us by now," I said while giving Crystals back a reassuring pat.

Crystal smiled weakly. "Right, I'm sure everyone else is hungry for dinner too?"

We stepped into the relaxing warmth of the stone mansion and hurriedly walked upstairs to my place, neither of us wanting to be yelled at by Red for being late. I opened the door, something only Lily and I had permission to do, and was overjoyed when the little girl burst into my arms seconds after I entered.

"You're back!" She shouted happily, and I laughed loudly as I returned her hug. When she let go she looked at the visitor I had brought, and I saw Lily's eyes dart around the room, looking for someone else.

"Where's Red?" She asked worriedly, "Did you not get to her on time?"

"She's fine Lily," I said, before receiving a resounding, solid thump on the back of my head.

"No thanks to you I'm not," my attacker yelled at me, wisps of red hair escaping from her hood. "What took you two so long? This is the second time I've passed by this door!" I heard a loud racketing down below the inn and Red paled and slammed my front door shut. We heard the racketing get louder as heavily armoured men marched up the staircase.

We all held our breath as the clash of metal grew louder and louder. The crashing footsteps stopped at our door, and I saw Red draw her dagger and slowly retreat backwards to stand beside me. After what felt like minutes, but was really only a few antagonizing seconds, the footsteps started up again and we heard them clashing down the stairs and out the mansion. No one said a word until the guards could be seen from my balcony view marching away.

"Well, what took you so long?" Red demanded. I activated my inventory and pulled out the meat pies.

"Parley?" I asked hopefully.

She looked at the food hungrily, and when her stomach rumbled her cheeks reddened in embarrassment and she relented. "Parley," she said.

"Excellent, lets eat then!" Crystal said eagerly, as she grabbed a pie from my hands and fell on a seat by the dining table. I passed a pie to Red and Lily and who each took their seats around the rectangular table. I walked over to the fireplace, purchased a piece of timber from the accommodation for a small amount and used it on the hearth. The hearth instantly lit up and provided the occupants with a rush of refreshing heat. I walked over to the balcony door and slammed it shut before sitting down at the table with the girls.

"I'm so damn glad all that smokes gone. I still can't believe I lit a kettle on fire," I said as I bit into my meat pie, savouring the magnificent taste. "If only we had some tomato sauce to go with this, and it would be perfect," I said, to which a round or murmured agreements began.

"And some pea soup," said Crystal, "then we could have pie floaters."

"Mmm, yes," mumbled Red from between bites of her meal.

Lily looked at the three of us curiously. "What's a pie floater?" she asked.

"Right, you probably wouldn't know. It's just a meat pie placed in pea soup with tomato sauce on top. It's one of those typical Australian meal." I explained for her.

"Sounds weird," said Lily, still not sold on the idea.

"Yep, as he said, typically Australian," Crystal said with a smirk.

We all finished our small meal at various times, and I was rather annoyed that Crystal refused to share the desserts I had bought her. In fact, she didn't even take them out, preferring to keep them hidden secretly in her inventory. I just grumbled under my breath, realizing there was little I could do as I had bought them for her in exchange for one of the money instalments. The last thing I wanted was for Red to catch on to something.

We all sat comfortably, our hunger sated, and our mental exhaustion we'd collected over the day kicking in and making us drowsy. Unfortunately, decisions had to be made.

"What are you going to do Red?" I asked, and she sighed heavily, having realized earlier that the question was sure to arise eventually.

"I guess I'll just do what I've done for the past two months. Stay hidden from the world and train," she said, sadness flickering in her voice.

"I'll help you any way I can, you know that. Just send me a message. I can help deliver supplies or news to you." Memories of when Martin had helped me so greatly when I was an orange player surfaced to the top of my mind. I was glad to be able to do the same for someone else now.

"Potions are the most important. When I was an orange player I had Martin deliver about two dozen every few days. That was back when I was a horrible fighter, and the bears were always landing hits on me. You might also want food depending on where you're going. You'll need to find some place to stay as well. You can't stay out in the night because the monsters get more aggressive and-"

"Sirius!" Red interrupted loudly, while Crystal giggled softly. "I'll be just fine. I've done this for two months already, this is just a tad more difficult."

I was reluctant to let her go without helping her more in some way, but she seemed resolved to remain independent. Red gave me a quick, sad smile and stood up.

"I better get going then if I'm going to find a place to stay at," she said regretfully.

"What are you talking about, you can stay here tonight," Lily said, jumping off her seat and grabbing Red by the hand.

"That's very sweet of you, but I don't want to be a burden. I'll take my leave now," Red said and made quick movements towards the exit.

"Red!" I said loudly, halting her in her escape. "Lily's right, you can stay here for the night, it's no trouble on anyone. You can share the room with Lily again."

Red's eyes lit up, but she still hesitated. "Are, are you sure?"

"It's just for one night Red, it's hardly going to be any trouble," I said reassuringly.

"In that case, I'm staying here for the night too," Crystal said, chiming in.

"No, you're leaving," I said bluntly, refusing to allow the money thief to stay any longer.

"Aww, but what about the instalment you owe me?" She asked, her eyes mischievously darting to Red, who looked like she was calculating something.

"Owe him? I feel like I remember something about this," Red said to herself, thinking out loud.

"Right. You're all staying here then!" I said loudly in a successful attempt to distract Red. Crystal squealed like a little girl and gave me quick hug before running over to Red and dragging her to the second bedroom.

"Are you two going to sleep in your cloaks?" I asked, slightly confused.

Crystal turned to give me a very serious look. "Oh, you're so bold Sirius! But I think you're right, it's time to show you what's beneath." Crystal tuck a thumb beneath the collar of the cloak, but before she could unwrap the material Red began dragging Crystal hurriedly to the room.

"Don't you dare Crystal!" Red shouted loudly, and Crystal's laugh rang out as the bedroom door was slammed shut behind them loudly.

Lily looked up at me, torn between the decision of staying with me or going with the girls.

"Go on after them," I said, "I'll kip on the couch again just in case they keep you up too long and you want the other bed."

"Thank you Sirius," she said sweetly, and she gave me a quick hug before skipping off to the girl's room, opening the door a fraction, slipping in, and shutting it behind her soundlessly.

I looked at the calendar on the stone wall near the roaring hearth before setting up my sleeping quarters. We had been on the fifth floor for eleven days now. That meant the floor boss would be discovered any day. I would have to have a serious talk with Ricochet about that happened with Perilous.

I yawned, mentally exhausted from tonight's intense adventure. I collapsed on the stone couch and rested my head on the hard armrest. Everyone was safe for now, and I was back home. The next adventure could come at me tomorrow in full swing, but for now, I could sleep peacefully, knowing that everything was all right.

* * *

I woke up early the next morning, but bright sunlight still punished my stinging eyes as it tore through the balcony window onto the couch. Only embers remained in the hearth, but the room still contained the warmth that was once released. I grudgingly lifted myself up, and stretched my back as I glanced around the room, looking for any other occupants. I frowned at the silence that subdued the empty room.

Standing up, stretching and yawning in the process, I trundled off to the bedrooms. I knocked on the nearest one, the one that should technically be empty. When no response came from the room I quietly pried the door open and glanced in. I smiled when I spotted Lily's sleeping body curled up in blankets on the bed. The girls must have dropped her off in here when she had finally nodded off.

I closed the door quietly and crept to the other door. Once again I repeated my procedure and knocked before opening the door when there was no response. I blinked in surprise when I realized I was staring at a room devoid of players.

"Where the hell did they go?" I murmured to myself. I pushed the door open wider and jumped in surprise as a hail of papers assaulted me. I groaned as I realized I'd just fallen for a simple, but effective prank. I was still confused that there was no one other than me to witness it however. Where were Red and Crystal?

I began gathering the fallen papers and was surprised to discover that they were a large variety of the new, but fake, Sirius wanted posters. Had Red stayed up all night making these?

I began gathering the precious posters into a bundle, but I stopped to examine one paper that had no drawing on it, only words.

_Dear Sirius,_

I paused. It was a letter. The girls had left me a letter.

_Hopefully you've found the posters, or more than likely, they've found you. Put them to good use._

_Thanks for letting us stay tonight, and looking after us these past few days. Although I know Red will never admit, she's greatly enjoyed her time around you, and she's terribly sad to have been forced to flee for a fortnight._

I stopped reading as I began processing the information. Why hadn't Red just said that in the first place? If she'd asked I would've been more than happy to hide and train with her for fourteen days. Perhaps I could catch up with them and find them. Yes, that sounded like a good idea, but I decided it would be best to finish the letter before I began any plans.

_I bet that right now you're planning in your head to meet up with her and spend two romantic weeks with her. Where you thinking of a honeymoon? Well, too bad for you, because she didn't want to drag you into this. You'll just have to live without her for a while._

I collapsed onto the haphazardly messy bed that the girls had slept in last night, and I found I quite enjoyed the strange sensation that rushed over me. I was no calm, and I realized that Crystal, all of her romantic jokes aside, was right; Red would never let me waste two weeks with her. I hope she'd be all right alone though. Talking about alone, why was I alone right now? Where was Crystal, and why was she writing this letter to me?

_Don't worry though, Red won't be alone, I'm going with her. After last night I realized just how weak and useless I really am, so I'm going to train with Red. When I come back, I bet you won't be able to recognize who I am. That, and you still haven't seen what's beneath my cloak yet._

A few unbidden thoughts floated to my mind, which I quickly willed away.

_Get those thoughts out of your head, pervert._

I just groaned in defeat.

_Don't bother trying to message us while we're gone, we won't respond. Going into solitude will be easier if we cut ourselves off for a while._

_Love, directly from Crystal, and indirectly from Red_

_P.S. make sure you use those posters, Red stayed up all night making those._

I looked at the precious bundle of wanted poster I had meticulously picked up and stacked into a tall, orderly pile. I smile forced it's way on my face, and I found myself both overjoyed and frustrated that Red had put so much effort into these. She needed her sleep, especially for today, her first day of being a criminal, and she wasted her sleep on posters. Red displayed her emotions in weird ways, but I was glad to know that I'd let my mark on her, and that she had begun to care about me in her own, weird way.

I turned the letter over to see if there were any more hidden messages, and was not disappointed in my search.

_P.P.S If you're reading this, that means you snuck into our room without our permission, you filthy pervert._

I just couldn't win.

* * *

**Aww, what a nice ending to the arc-ish thing that just ended. Stay tuned for the next one :)**

**And on a more mysterious note, ARICANA, CHAPTER SEVEN, JUST WHAT IS GOING ON THERE. (a ministory)  
So, me being ever curious, I decided to look at the traffic stats of that particular story for different months. In December, 50 Polish people gave that chapter 150 hits. First thing, wtf polish people? This is the only chapter that a country other than USA has given me the most views for. But wait, it gets even weirder. I decided to check out chapter six, to see what those silly polish were doing. Guess what. Not a single polish viewer/hitter was observed. At all. Hmm, what about chapter 8 then. Same thing. Poof, gone. For some reason, a bunch of polish people decided to view only chapter 7 of my story approximately 3 times each, and then be done with it. Mindblowing.**

**But wait, it gets even more weirder. I decided that December was interesting, so I decided to check out January. The exact same thing happened again, but this time it wasn't with the polish (thank god) it was with the Sudanese! Did my 50 Polish fans suddenly change ethnicity and become Sudanese! What is the world coming too!**

This is why I love the internet. Unexplainable, weird shite happens everyday, and all people can do is say "well, that's the internet for you."

**Thanks for reading, and if you have any theories, write ahead. I'll tell you if the plot thickens any further.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**

**p.s. I know this is becoming a horribly and really long A/N, but shinnypichu88 came up with a really good observation. Was the original SAO worldwide, or was it Japan only. I always thought it was Japan only, but he sheds light on another possibility. Tell me what you think.**


	30. Autumn

The fifth floor boss was finally defeated after hours of monotonous, repetitive tactics. Ricochet had begun the fight at nine in the morning, and it was currently two in the afternoon. Five hours for one boss battle, that was the record so far. One player was lost during the fight, and that had not even been the bosses doing, but one of the minions. The player had fallen when one of his party members stumbled and he had jumped in to take the blow. The small, afflicted group was mourning quietly at the edges of the cold, stone room, and all other Serious gave them plenty of space.

I sighed, feeling miserable that even when I was included in the boss battles there were still casualties. Martin, sensing my mood, had clapped me on the back and told me that it wasn't my fault, and that I had done more than asked for when helping handle the boss.

Of course he was right. I wasn't to blame, but players still looked at me in awe every now and then, remembering when I singlehandedly defeated the first floor boss. I was no longer a special player anymore though. My Legion Blade was nowhere near the strongest weapon out there, and my levels were not the highest. It was hard to admit it to myself, but I was just another player in the midst of the Serious.

However, that had only been half the reason I had joined the fight today. I had desperately needed to have a conversation with Ricochet about recent events, but he had blatantly refused to humour me unless I joined the fight, and even after I promised to fight he demanded that I wait until the boss was defeated. Now that the conditions were fulfilled I wasted no time scouting out the leader of the Builders, of the Serious as they were more commonly called.

I found Ricochet discussing observations he had gleaned from the fight with several other players whom I knew by face, but not by name. One particular player was watching me as I approached, his gray eyes watching me curiously. He looked like weedy looking player, rather tall, but exceptionally skinny. I wondered briefly why he was so intrigued in me.

Ricochet noticed my presence though, and he dismissed the surrounding players and I gratefully found myself alone with him. I examined Ricochet, who currently looked worse for the wear after the record long boss battle. The boss battles might be considered safe, or at least as safe as a boss battle can get, but they were still obviously exhausting for the leader.

His long blond hair running down his face looked dishevelled and unruly, but he appeared not to care, simply pushing away the strands that fell into his eyes. A light stubble sat upon his chin and jaw, something that he must have had before the SAO world began. Barbers had still not been discovered in SAO, and hair, facial or on the top of ones head, did not grow. Everyone's hairstyles were currently exactly as they had been in the real world on that unfortunate day. Even my chinstrap beard that ran along my cheekbone and jaw was still there.

I noticed for the first time that Ricochet's eyes were a pure blue, which he was currently having trouble keeping open. Sleep deprivation lines ran around his face, changing his usually cool demeanour into one of a stressed, forty year old office worker. As I stared at the face that showed the painful results of so much planning and organizing for a fight, I tried to imagine what Ricochet's reasons for leaving this world must be. They must be some powerful reasons, perhaps a loved one in the other world. Being in at least his late twenties, Ricochet could very easily be married. Marriage, now there was a thought that was completely foreign to me.

Ricochet, who had been spinning a hammer around in his fingers, sheathed his weapon and looked at me gratefully.

"Thanks for coming along mate. You don't realize how much you help at distracting the boss. No one else can dodge quite like you. Well except for that Rhythm, but I have no clue where that fella ran off to." He looked at me inquisitively. "Do you know? You two seemed pretty close during the first floor boss?"

"No, sorry, I have no idea where that _fella_ is," I said, and bitterly I thought that I didn't want to know where he was yet either. I still wasn't quite ready to forgive him.

"Is that so?" said Ricochet, not quite believing me. "Ah well, he'll come around eventually, I'm sure of it. Now, what was it you wanted to talk about? Or would you rather go somewhere private where we can't be overheard?"

"Unfortunately, being overheard will probably just accomplish my goal faster, so lets just talk here."

"Right," said Ricochet, agreeing far too easily, almost seeming to know already what I was going to ask

"So, I was out with certain players two nights ago," I began, but Ricochet interrupted.

"Who?"

"Not saying," I said bluntly, not willing to reveal that Red had been secretly meeting with me these past few days. "The point of my story is that I ran into a murderous player called Perilous." Ricochet raised his eyebrows at this, but did not look surprised. "Twice," I added, and this time I saw some genuine surprise in Ricochet's expression.

"Perilous completed some sort of quest with a witch in the forest somewhere and received a bottle of paralysis potion. Although that's scary on his own right, what's more terrifying is that he's somehow managed to duplicate the recipe."

"Impossible, no one can replicate poisons yet." said Ricochet plainly, leaving no room for argument. I wasn't about to be pushed aside so easily though.

"Well, he used one batch on one of my friends, and another on me, and the reward for the quest is only one bottle," I said heatedly.

"And who told you that?" Ricochet asked curiously.

"A friend," I replied, trying not to drag Red into this.

"Hmm, so you have a beta friend then. I can't think of who it'd be. Definitely not Red…" Ricochet's thoughts trailed off and I was glad, in a strange kind of way, that any kind of friendly relationship between Red and I was seen as improbable. It would help hide her identity for a while longer.

"Anyway," said Ricochet's, his voice snapping back into focus, "You've been misinformed. In the beta, the quest you're speaking of rewards one bottle, but in this version, the quest rewards three."

I paused as I took in this information. It wasn't really surprising at all that current beta information was slightly incorrect. It happened all the time, Kayaba had made sure of that, not wishing to make the beginning of the game too easy for us. Something else bothered me though.

"How do you know about the reward? Only perilous should know about that," I asked accusingly, to which Ricochet just grimaced.

"I have my ways," he said cryptically.

I just sighed at his evasiveness, knowing that I'd never get anything out of him that he didn't want others to know. Although I disliked being left in the dark, I trusted Ricochet, so I let it slide.

"This story ends with me running into Perilous a second time, watching him murder two players in one sword skill, then letting me and my friends leave without a fight, asking only that we advertise his name."

"Advertise his name?" Ricochet asked, but he still didn't seem surprised. "Alright, if that's the reason you came to me, then I can do that."

"Thanks Ricochet," I said gratefully, deeply relieved that I had one less job on my shoulders.

"But if anyone asks I will have to tell them I heard this from you. I don't wish to be the primary source in this fiasco," Ricochet said, and there was something in his blue eyes that twinkled. The same twinkle whenever he was planning something manipulative. I couldn't refuse though, and honestly, I didn't want to refuse at this point. I just wanted this Perilous business to leave my hands.

I nodded in agreement. "Excellent!" Ricochet said happily, clapping his hands together, and I had an uncanny feeling that all the pieces on the board had just fallen into his hands. He called out a name, and the tall, lanky player that had been staring at me earlier strolled towards us. Ricochet gave him a few orders about advertising, which he silently, and rather sullenly, agreed to.

"Actually, while you're at it," I said, while playing with the menu in front of me. I activated a trade box and sent it to the newcomer, who gave me a curious look, but accepted.

"Take these posters, and hand one to every player you can find. It's pretty important," I said, while placing all seventy-seven of Red's new wanted posters in the trade menu and sending them off to him. His eyes flashed dangerously when I gave him orders, but he quickly hid the small outburst, and forced a smile on his face.

"If that's your wish, Sirius," the man said, and marched off before I could ask any more of him.

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again. You handled that brilliantly," Ricochet said, a mocking grin on his haggard face.

"Shut up," I said sullenly, and I began to leave, eager to head to the new floor to look for some good accommodation, but Ricochet stopped me before I could escape.

"Hey, you're going to be at the next boss fight, right?" He asked, but it didn't sound like a question, more like an order.

"Only if you find another way to blackmail me into it," I replied bitterly, and with long, quick strides I marched to the large, stone staircase that led to the newly unlocked sixth floor.

Before I began my journey up the stairs the tall player I had handed the posters over to blocked the path.

"Sirius," he said firmly, his fingers moving up to his face as if to push back glasses that just weren't there. He pulled his hand back before he completed the action, but I understood. Old habits died hard.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I know your name," I said.

"Of course. You just gave me some orders and ran off. Why would you think to ask of my name? No one here has any matters…" His voice collapsed into a low mutter. Long, straight, greasy black hair fell down his face to his shoulders. With a quick flick of his hand he pushed it behind his ears, but some still escaped to his face anyway.

"Are you going to give me your name or not?" I asked, beginning to grow irritated. He was wasting my time. I needed to look for accommodation before the Serious took it all.

"No manners at all…" the player continued to mutter to himself, and I decided to make my escape from the partly senile man.

"No wait, don't leave, I have questions! I need answers!" He shouted desperately. I looked at him, one eyebrow cocked in wonder. "My name is Dr, open parenthesis, H, A, open parenthesis, closed parenthesis, five," he said, far too rapidly for me to understand anything, further deepening the conclusion in my mind that this man was crazy.

He seemed to at least understand why I wore a blank, unamused look on my face. "Dr (HA()5," he said, this time in understandable English.

"Jesus man, why didn't you say so in the first place?" I asked, seriously confused.

"But I did,' He replied, also seriously confused.

"Yeah, you know what? I don't have time for this, I'm leaving." I put my first foot on the step but before I could heave myself up a strong hand on my shoulder yanked me back down.

"This is urgent, you can't just leave!" He said indignantly.

"Then what do you want," I shouted exasperatedly, my voice finally raising in correlation with my irritation.

He made a grand gesture of clearing his throat before answering. "Do you know the current location of a player in the world of Aincrad that goes by the avatar name of Red?" Could his question get any more formal? This Dr Chaos guy was really beginning to creep me out. There was no way in hell I was going to tell him where Red was.

Besides, I didn't even know myself. With that biter thought in mind I snapped back angrily at the doctor. "And why the hell would I know where she is?"

Dr Chaos supplied an answer, despite my intentions to have put an end to our conversation. "Because you're one of the few player's in this world to have a connection to her," he answered.

"She tried to kill me," I replied, my voice expressionless.

"Yes, that's exactly it!" He said, beginning to sound excited, like he was a scientist on the verge of a discovery. "She's never wanted to kill anyone before until she met you. It's absolutely fascinating." Now I was beginning to feel like a test subject under this mans intense, enthusiastic gaze. I was also unsettled by the amount of intimacy the man seemed to talk with when discussing Red.

"Do the two of you know each other?" I asked, before I could bite back my curiosity. I did not want to appear to be intrigued in the relationships of my supposed murderer, but this could possibly become a source of information about the mysterious Red.

"No, we do not know each other. Not directly, anyway," Dr (HA()5 said nervously, his hand rising to his eyes again to push back imaginary glasses. He again froze the motion, but again, I had noticed the tweak.

"So, you've been stalking her?" I asked, none too pleased by where this conversation was heading.

"Yes, but only because I had to, you see-" I cut him off, not wanting to talk with this incredibly creepy, paedophilic, senile man any longer.

"Stay away from me, and if you ever run into this Red person, I'd suggest you also stay away from her if you know what's good for you," I said harshly, and retreated to the towering stairs before he could stop me a second time.

"But- Wait, I had so many more questions! Wait, you must come back! Wait!" The doctors voice rang up the stairway, but I paid it no heed, and instead focused on making my rapid escape.

* * *

I basked in the warm sunlight of the small park within the golden bathed safe zone I had recently discovered. The weather wasn't stifling hot, but compared to the chilly, bland, stony fifth floor this was paradise. It was definitely Autumn weather, I thought, and my thoughts had been confirmed when I'd discovered the name of this town, "Autumn Glade".

Golden brown tree's lined the edges of the small park, and random leaves would drip off of the twiggy branches and float back and forth, swaying here and fro as they slowly breezed towards the ground. The grass in the park had taken on a beautiful orange hue as well, the kind that in the other world would remain healthy for all of a day before becoming crispy brown and dying. Fortunately, the SAO system had locked this place in Autumn, so the season never advanced, the leaves never stopped falling, and grass never died. Some people thought that the temperature was getting colder as it approached December, in response the American tradition of a white Christmas, but I was confident that they were fooling themselves, and that they were just complaining about the previous cold floors.

If anything, I hoped that December would awaken a floor of summer heat and beautiful beaches, an Australian Christmas like no other. I wondered if Kayaba had thought far enough ahead to include aspects such as the 6-month season cycle difference between Australia and most of the rest of the world. We'd just have to wait and see.

A golden maple leaf brushed my shoulder, and the physical contact reminded me that I had a job to do in this city. I had to find accommodation, and soon. I had spotted a few Serious dashing around purchasing a few of the more obvious, but cheaper and less beautiful accommodations. I glanced around me, and pondered where the most relaxing location would be for my future accommodation. I wondered what Lily would like.

I pushed myself off the bench and decided to walk in the direction of the setting sun. It was as good of a direction as any, and I enjoyed the systems attempts to recreate the feeling of bright sunlight. My eyes agreed with me that it did a pretty damn good job, and I was soon shielding my face.

Eventually I found a cheery looking Inn that had a small restaurant on the first floor, and rooms on the top. A big sign above the inn displayed the name, "The Burning Leaf," and I thought that the description fit the look of most of the auburn leaves that surrounded the place.

I walked in and was pleased to discover that they offered two bedroom rooms, and I quickly put a down payment down for seven days. I still had four days left in the Victorian mansion on the fifth floor, but I didn't really care. I just wanted a change of scene, and I wanted it now, not in four days.

I gave the room a quick look around to determine that it was liveable, and then left to do some last minute shopping in the town before the stalls closed. I passed by the potions store without even sparing it a glance. I still owned about two dozen potions that I had purchased two months ago. I was rarely ever hit, so I barely ever used the health replenishers. Admittedly, I had been forced to use two during the fifth floor boss battle, but that was only because of the large area attacks.

No, I wasn't interested in potion shops. I was more concerned about fighting an armoury and a smith. My Legion Broadsword needed to be repaired, a few chips could be seen in the usually sleek metal, one of the lions were missing at the hilt guard, and the blade was so scratched I could no longer read the engraved words "Protect".

I found a smith near the town centre, a location that was really quite spectacular. A large, beautiful orange oak was planted at the centre, and a smooth, stone pond surrounded it. Leaves would fall like snow off of the large oak and then float upon the pond like small fiery boats. The town centre was a large circle, with a north and an east entrance, and the rest of the circumference littered with NPC stalls and shops.

I quickly scouted a smith sign, two weapons crossed over each other in large 'X' and entered. The young, lean looking NPC ran the place, and repaired my Broadsword beautifully for a rather exorbitant price. As most players had finally realized, repairing good quality weapons cost a large amount of money. Fortunately for most players, they had little else to spend their money on other than accommodation and food, so there was always money available for weapons to be repaired.

Before I left the smith I purchased a second broadsword, fearing that I might once again be in a situation in which I was disarmed of my primary weapon. Hell, Red owned two extra daggers, just in case. The weapon I found in the smith that was most comfortable was a rather thick broadsword, with the blade shaped in a diamond like fashion. The blade was basic steel, with a brown leather hilt and a basic steel hilt guard painted black.

I was surprised that the weapon was not that much weaker than my Legion Blade, considering I was purchasing it at a basic, NPC run shop, while the Legion Blade was really quite a legendary weapon. As I thought about it more, it made sense, as I had found the Legion Broadsword on the first floor. It would only be a matter of time when ordinary weapons found in stores would be far more effective then my trusted Legion blade.

The new steel broadsword cost only a fraction more than what it had cost to repair the Legion Blade, and I sighed as I watched my funds steadily decreasing. It wasn't like I was broke, but my money was quickly becoming an issue. Some new armour may have been nice, but I decided that my Coat of Midnight was good enough. However, I wouldn't have minded something other than black. After being forced to wear black cloaks and having to hide my face the majority of the time, I was eager for a change. It was just a shame this midnight black coat had such impressive bonuses.

As I left the smith the darkness of the sky surprised me, and reminded me of my next task. It was time to use the floor teleporter to travel to the fifth floor and pick up Lily. Because Lily was originally an AI she had no ability to function with the floor teleporters. For Lily to advance to the next floor I would have to carry her through the Major Dungeon and the floor boss arena. It was terribly inconvenient, but it was a small price to pay to be able to live with her. This kind of transport method had recently made it incredibly difficult and time consuming for me whenever Lily had wanted to visit Chris on the first floor. From now on, I had a feeling that Chris will be visiting us. Five floors of travelling was just far too much for a quick visit.

So I walked to the floor teleporter, which was currently regurgitating players every few seconds as almost all 8000 players left in this world came to visit the newly unlocked floor. It took 10 minutes of impatient waiting, and finally a bit of pushing and shoving until I'd fought my way against the crowd and left the Autumn themed sixth floor. As my vision refocused on the fifth floor I was quickly pushed and bashed to the side as long lines of players yelled angrily at me for slowing down the process.

I sighed, absolutely hating this strange form of rush hour. The streets away from the main teleporter were eerily quiet and deserted as I made my way to the stone manor. It was a weird contrast from the hustle and bustle of the floor teleporter location. I entered the stone living room and found Lily sitting on the stone couch, staring at the black coals and crackling embers of the hearth, her feet swinging back and forth slowly.

"Sirius!" She squealed when she noticed my presence. She slipped off the stone couch and launched herself into my open arms. I swung her around, in a circle, her feet swinging wildly as we both laughed, overjoyed to see each other again.

"You made it! I knew you'd beat the boss," she proclaimed proudly.

"That's because my little pixie trouble maker wouldn't let me rest peacefully if I didn't come back," I said, as I ruffled her hair with one hand while lowering her back to the ground. "You ready to get moving?" I asked, to which I received an eager nodding of the head.

"What's the new floor like Sirius? Is it warm? I hope it's warm, I'm getting sick of living by the fire every day. Is it beautiful? What are the people like? Are there kids there?" Lily asked rapidly as she skipped around the room.

"Woah, easy there girl. I'll tell you about as we walk. Let me just grab all my gear," I walked over to the storage chest and withdrew a large amount of long lasting food and water supplies, some rare items that might sell for a small fortune of col, but were otherwise useless to me, and some personal pieces of paper I kept around with me. In particular, there was the portrait Red had done of me that she had forgotten to pick up, and the letter Crystal had left me when the girls had left.

With the chest empty I gave the room one last looking over, making sure nothing was going to be left behind. If I had forgotten something, I would have four days before I was kicked out of the room and everything was reset, so I wasn't too worried.

Having found nothing, I called for Lily, who skipped over to me and grasped my wrist with her dainty hands. Together, we left the room, and I closed the heavy door behind us with a resounding crash.

All too soon we had left the safety of The Quarry and we were walking in the faint midnight. I decided not to carry Lily yet. She was barely allowed out of the safe zones as it was, so I let her run around exploring the nooks and crannies of various stone boulders that littered the path.

My Legion Broadsword was always in my hands however, prepared to deal with any threats that targeted Lily. There were quite a number of them too. The night made the monsters more vicious, and numerous Stone Hounds attacked, along with over a dozen Stone Orcs, and even one giant, enraged Stone Spider. Lily hardly had to bother running to my side during these attacks, as I was more than strong enough to deal with the stone beasts in one solid strike. When the Stone Spider appeared however she had taken refuge behind me while her high pitched screams pierced the night. In her defence, the stone spider was one of the highest levelled monsters that could be encountered in the wilds yet, but I was certain that Lily was more scared of the spider then the high level.

Truthfully, the journey was highly enjoyable. Despite night monsters giving no extra experience or rewards then their daytime counterparts, the slight extra difficulty kept me on my toes, and the experience was not to be overlooked. The boss battle had raised my level to sixteen, and I was hoping that by the end of the night I might gain another level. A foolish dream, I admit, but I was allowed to dream every now and then. If only levels weren't so damn hard to get these days.

Lily was having the time of her life as well, shrieking almost comically when a monster would appear, and shouting in victory when I defeated them. By the time we reached the entrance to the major dungeon I was forced to begin carrying her however. Not only was she getting tired, but also the monsters were more dangerous here, and when you counted in the addition of possible traps, I felt it would be far easier if I simply ran her through the whole area.

We made it to the boss room in record time, having only been interrupting once. It had been a close call though, as I had accidently activated a mob trap, which caused six Stone Orcs to suddenly ambush the two of us. On my own I would have loved to fight them, considering it an enjoyable challenge, but with Lily in my hands I had decided to simply vault over them and sprint off.

I tried putting Lily down in the boss room, where I knew there would be no monsters, and that it would be safe, but she refused when she saw the daunting stone steps that seemed to stretch upwards forever. I grudgingly complained as I carried her up the stairs. She just giggled the whole time, having the time of her life torturing me.

Eventually we reached the Autumn floor, and Lily gaped at the scene. When she told me it looked like the scariest floor yet, I had to agree that the near skeletal tree's lost their beautiful fiery colour at night and did look quite intimidating. Shivering slightly at the thought of ferocious, unknown night monsters I ran quickly with Lily to the safe zone. All too soon we were in my warm, rented room within the Burning Leaf. Lily had dozed off in my arms so I lowered her gently upon the extra bed, kissed her goodnight on the forehead, and left the room to go crash on my own bed.

It had been a long day, first the boss fight, then the discussion with Ricochet, whom I knew was hiding something from me, meeting that Dr creepy guy, and then transporting Lily up here, but it had all been strangely enjoyable. I was living in this world, and I was living in it well. Sometimes I felt that I belonged in this strange, technological, bloody, murderous death world more then I did in my previous world. It was a strange, mentally unstable thought, but part of my mind always stopped me from discounting it whenever I thought about it.

* * *

**So I was thinking about a big time skip, and then I thought, why bother, and decided to drill right on ahead at my mundane pace. Hope it won't kill you all. I'm working the bits and pieces of the next arc in my head, trying to see how many floors I can speed by as it occurs. So far, it looks like I'll just have to be doing a lot more writing to reach the 100th floor. Let's hope that comes as good news to your ears.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	31. A Short Reprise For Making It This Far

Having cleared five floors the general consensus of players was that the SAO escape plan was possible, and becoming more of a reality every day. One could estimate that there were perhaps five hundred players who refused to participate in this world. These players could be found wallowing their lives away in the starting city. They were perhaps the most pitiful players to observe, and although it may have been a sin, I couldn't bring it within myself to sympathize with them. They just seemed so damn hopeless, but they weren't doing anything to change that. We had finally reached the first of December, over three months of game time, and these particular players had yet to accomplish anything. Kayaba would have been disappointed.

The other 7000 players living on Aincrad were just beginning to thrive within this strange and new world. Everyone was enjoying the thrill of fighting. The exhilaration one felt when in combat, the fluid motions one could perform with their bodies, the adrenaline that rushes through one's system after a sword skill. It was all scarily addicting. The 7000 players were not all Serious though. At this point in the game, there were perhaps 100 Serious, and they were terrifyingly powerful. These were the players that had been fighting since day one, and were currently at least level sixteen.

Behind the Serious, trailing between level 12-15 were the up and coming Serious. There were about 2000 of these players, and they had just as much determination as any of the current Serious. The only difference was the amount of time they'd had to level up. With the way the level curve worked though, it was just a matter of time until the level differences were compromised, and that there was a large population of Serious.

The remaining 5000 players were perhaps the most curious, and the most interesting to observe. They ranged from level 6-12, only fought enemies that were at least half their level, and only trained for a few hours a day. What made these players so interesting was that they lived. Unlike the Serious, or the up and coming, they didn't spend 16 hours a day grinding for levels, but instead spent 2 hours grinding, and 14 hours socializing. These laid back players were now known as the Living.

The most recent advancement by the Living was the play that a troupe of them were about to perform. It was to be a comedy version of Shakespeare plays, and although I was uncertain to just how humorous Shakespeare could become, the fact that drama was being replicated within another world was simply fascinating. December the 12th was the opening night, and I was certain I would be there, perhaps with Lily.

Because the general consensus of over 90% of the players was rather positive, it meant that the speed of discovering and scouting the major dungeon of the 6th floor was coming across at an impressive rate. Only four days had passed since the major dungeon had been discovered, and over half of it had been cleared, a record rate.

What this meant for me, was that grinding locations were becoming increasingly crowded, and with the highest level mobs, tensions ran high between players trying to claim the spot as theirs. I was currently sharing a location with Martin and his friends, who were laughing joyfully as they danced with their weapons around the Autumn Nymphs.

Being in a party with Martin and his friends meant that I was allowed to see their levels. Each individual had the option to hide their level, as such a statistic could be hidden through the menu options, but Martin was steadfast on the idea of honesty and frankness, so levels were open for all to see.

Martin had the highest level of his group, reaching level 16, while the other members of his party were level 15, except for one lonely level 14. This meant that I was of equal level with Martin, and thus a good levelling partner to team up with. I would have had unequivocally preferred to level alone, but with the recent tensions that had arisen in the past few days, levelling up with a party was both easier and more respectable.

Technically, I was still levelling alone though. Martin had split his party of 5 into two groups, him and a high damage dealer in one group, and the other three together. This was because the Autumn Nymphs utilized powerful, single hit strikes that stunned and weakened targets on impact, meaning a one versus one fight was generally a death wish. Once a nymph had stung a player, they could keep up a barrage of strikes that only lengthen the overall stun time.

However, there were exceptions, such as my fighting style. My tactic of plain evasion worked more than perfectly. If I couldn't be hit, then I wouldn't be stunned.

I lowered myself beneath the golden branch of the Autumn Nymph as the thorny arm swung viciously above me, poisonous barbs dripping with ooze breezing dangerously over my face. A lithe roll allowed me to dodge the second branch that came smashing down vertically. I felt the ground shatter as the powerful strike avoided me and instead collided with the ground.

Utilising the pause between the nymph's attacks I launched myself into a standing position while whipping my blade up northwards. The nymph screamed in agony as I cut into it's wooden flesh, and I was hard pressed to leap out of the way as a third branch came swinging out from the side in a counter attack. My Acrobatics skill was not yet high enough to perform a back somersault, but I had recently learned how to perform the less rapid, but just as effective back hand spring. The down side to this manoeuvre was the need to drop my broadsword halfway through.

Unfortunately, that looked to be the only way to avoid the incoming branch, so I began the backwards jump, reluctantly dropping my Legion broadsword on the ground when my hands touched before springing myself back up right. The nymph's third branch missed me completely, but it advanced upon me immediately, perhaps recognizing my defencelessness in my weaponless state. Unable to reach my Legion blade I rolled sharply around the approaching nymph, jumped back as far as I could in one movement, and then rapidly played with me menu.

After a few second of tapping, my newer, steel broadsword materialized in my hands, and not a moment later I activated Vertical Strike and stunned the wood like creature. The new weapon felt unusual and off balance in my hands, but I didn't let it bother me as I followed up my sword skill with another, Sword Play. The Autumn Nymph finally collapsed in a scream of agony before disappearing in a rain of colours.

I stepped over to quickly recollect my Legion Broadsword, and only once it was securely in its sheathe did I banish the steel broadsword to my inventory. I sighed and sat down as I waited for the next monster to appear, hopefully on my side of the territory, and not on Martin's or his friends. I sighed, and opened up my menu. It was 1:32. I would have to wait about three minutes.

Unconsciously I checked my messages, and a familiar feeling of disappointment rushed over me when I realized I had none. I swore silently to myself. What was I expecting? Honestly. Who would possibly want to send me a message? There was no reason for Rhythm or Becka to message me, they were probably about as mad at me as I was at them. It was a misunderstanding I would have to clear eventually, but I was still furious that they had assaulted Red that night.

Crystal had clearly told me not to message them, and that they would only message me when her and Red's time was up, which meant that expecting something from them was also ludicrous. The only person in my friends list left was Ricochet, who I tried to avoid at all costs, and Martin, who I was currently spending more time with then I preferred.

I had to berate myself for being so negative. The Spaniard was great, once I got over his dramatic antics and his name calling. It's that his friends still give me the cold shoulder, and it's bloody miserable feigning peace with them. I sighed, realizing, not for the first time, that my only pillar of support left for me was Lily. Perhaps tomorrow I'd take a day off training, and we could go play in this autumn weather floor. I already knew that she'd love that.

I glanced at the time on the top of my menu. The green neon numbers told me that it was 1:35. I looked up at the golden world just in time to see a new Autumn Nymph spawn several meters away from me in a fancy display of colours and lights.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

a day later the sixth floor boss arena was discovered. It was incredible just how fast the dungeon had been scouted and the boss room discovered. Personally, I felt that it was a bit too fast. I was still recovering from the last boss fight. It had only been five days ago, and considering the way Ricochet was acting, it seemed like we would be fight it tomorrow. That guy was like a growing desert. Never stopping. Just continuously devouring this world at a steady pace.

If there was something that most of the 7000 players currently fighting in this world had yet to realize, it was that boss battle rewarded an immense amount of experience, and was one of the main reason why the leading Serious were so much more powerful then other players. It was really quite unfair when I thought about it. Only 42 players could receive this massive experience bonus. It led to some disturbing thoughts about the future. What if a select group of 42 players became unbelievably strong and unstoppable compared to the rest? Would they be able to rule like kings?

I wanted to keep up with the rest of the Serious, and to do this I would have to participate in the boss battle. Although I didn't abuse the benefits granted by my high level, or at least I didn't think I did, I enjoyed the feeling of having power, and being able to fight. Therefore I kept a close, but irritating connection with Ricochet that allowed me to slip into upcoming boss battles. However, that meant I would have to participate in the pre battle meeting Ricochet always held. I usually skipped these meetings as it was usually Ricochet asking me to fight for him. This time it was me asking him to fight, so the tables had been turned, and I was forced to bend to his every whim if I wanted to join the fight.

That damn manipulative bastard.

So it was with a reluctant hug to Lily and an ominous farewell I left her in the Autumn city to travel to the first floor auditorium where all pre battle meetings took place. After a brief wait in line at the teleporter (The highest floor always had the most traffic, only rivalled by the first floor), I was marching along the familiar streets in which I had once discovered the true terror of being trapped in a death game.

But it was no longer a terror. In fact, it never had been. Time's had been harder then I may have wished for, and I had experience near death situations a few times, but ultimately, I felt like I was living. Compared to the other world where I lived a monotonous life, I currently felt like I was on a holiday. All the scenario changes of the floors made it feel like I was travelling the world or something, it was brilliant.

Some friendships I once had were beginning to unravel, and that tore at my heart, but I was making so many new acquaintances that I was able to numb the pain. I knew that one day this holiday would end, one way or another, but currently I just wanted to live and feel alive in this world. I wanted to enjoy this second life I never imagined I'd be allowed to experience.

I stepped heavily down the steps into the Auditorium and looked around for a spare seat. Preferably one that was isolated from other players. It was the Serious more so than any other kind of player that gave me a cold stare when I approached them. Supposedly they had forgiven me for the first floor scene I had made, but they still seemed to think that I was a player hogging the best weapons and best training spots. The current Serious had deep motives for wanting to escape this world as soon as possible, and when it seemed to them that a player was holding back vital information it made them furious.

Some were more open then others about their reasons for leaving this world. There were quite a few players reaching their late twenties who wanted to be reunited with their wives and young children. A few younger couples wanted to escape so they could live out their romantic lives in the real world. One rather unique player would say no more than that she'd made a promise to her brother. Quite a quirky girl, that one was.

Honestly, when I looked at how… serious these Serious were it made me feel ashamed for my reasons for wanting to beat the game. Ultimately, I had no reasons. I just wanted to beat the game out of sheer satisfaction and with adrenaline pumping through my body. I continued to look for a spot to sit, but still couldn't find one. Perhaps I didn't belong here.

Unfortunately, in my time of brooding, a particular player decided to confront me in a less than pleasant manner.

"Hey freak, get out of here, we don't want your kind in a boss battle," Villias spat angrily at me.

"What have I done this time?" I asked, irritation colouring my voice.

He couldn't quite seem to come up with an answer, so he instead continued to insult me. "You don't deserve to be here. You'll just steal all the rewards, reap the experience, and then when it suits you you'll just fuck off. You don't give a damn about any of us."

I tucked my anger far within my chest, refusing to react to his kind of insults. I simply ignored him and tried to find a place, any place, to sit down. Villias manoeuvred himself so that he was in front of me, blocking my current path. It seemed that he had more to say to me.

"Listen, we don't want you here, so I'm going to ask you once more nicely. Leave quietly, or I'll make you." Villias said this in the most menacing tone he could manage, but the threat came off far weaker than expected though. I was half a foot taller then him, and despite the kid probably being the same age as me, I looked years older. I spied an empty seat opposite of where Villias was standing, and moved to sit down there. Villias skidded in front of me once again, blocking my path with an infuriatingly smug look on his face.

"That was your last chance. Now, we duel," he said aggressively, and with a bit of tapping on the air he sent a duel request towards me. Quite a few nearby players cheered happily, confirming how they felt towards me. My mood darkened considerably, but it wasn't really anger any more, it was more like self-pity. I was unused to people disliking me in the other world. This world was just so different sometimes.

The flashing duel icon in my view was distracting and irritating. I angrily declined the option, and before Villias could protest I lowered myself, and with my calved and thighs tightly coiled, I flung myself upwards. The surrounding players gasped in surprise and awe as I soared up almost two meters. In reality, I hadn't raised myself quite that high off the ground, but I rolled in the air as I passed over a disbelieving Villias, and created the illusion of effortless jumping.

"Wha… h-how?" Villias managed to stutter as he tried to hide his shock. I sat down calmly in the vacant seat I had chosen, and simply ignored him. He had just tried to force me into a duel I didn't want to commit to. I felt no need to answer anything he said.

The reason for my superhuman jumping, I thought proudly, was because I had vacated my Vitality, Perception, and Dexterity stat almost completely, and instead piled my points into both Strength, and more importantly in this case, Agility. One's Agility stat determined their speed and jumping height. Considering I was at the same level as all of these Serious, and most of them had squandered their points in Vitality, none of them could have possibly seen such incredible air manoeuvres. Of course, the Acrobatics skill helped immensely.

Villias looked ready to attack me outside of a duel, little good that would do him in a safe zone, but it was the thought that counts. He was fortunately interrupted by the entrance of Ricochet, who wasted no time getting everyone to calm down. Ricochet began discussing information discovered by some scouts about the sixth floor boss and the tactics that were to be used against it.

I mentally groaned as I began anticipating the estimated four hour, monotonous, overprotective, overcautious upcoming battle. Yesterday had been a long day, today was being a long day, and tomorrow was sure to be yet another long day in this strange world called Aincrad.

* * *

**This was released a bit later then I'd hoped, and the chapters quite short too, so sorry about that folks. I'll try and get the next chap up super soon to make up for it**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	32. The Gold Rush

The sixth floor boss had been defeated, and the gigantic, golden battleaxe wielding minotaur was nothing but a sobering memory for a middle aged man who had lost his wife during the fight. The couple had been fighting on the frontlines as Serious so that they could escape this world as soon as possible and be reunited with their two children on the outside world.

A day later the middle aged man committed suicide, taking his own life by jumping off the edge of the first floor. Players grieved for the couple, and parents grieved for the couple's children, who would now be orphans. However, all too soon the story was forgotten from the minds of the players, and the world continued to function.

Death followed the inhabitants everywhere. There was no escape, but to regress on that fact was to drown oneself in grief and helplessness, an almost certain road to death.

To forget the tragic deaths seemed simply too harsh of an alternative for me, and so several days after the horrific event I traversed down to the Memorial Stone on the first floor with a bouquet of flowers. The names on the stone seemed to stretch on forever, and the glistening white chalk-like writing seemed to seep tears of suffering.

I held back any emotions though, and quietly placed the colourful bouquet of flowers against the black stone. A small smile rose to my face when I spotted a nostalgic looking bouquet. Red must have visited earlier. I was disappointed that I hadn't been able to see her, but the flowers told me enough. She was living well enough to keep up a daily routine. I wondered how Crystal was surviving, training with that red haired devil.

Quietly retreating from the giant tombstone I headed up to the seventh floor, the most recently unlocked floor, and began scouting for an untaken grinding location. Most of the popular one's were taken already, despite the early hour in the morning. I supposed that it wasn't really that early, as my version of early was very different to others, but it was still both surprising and irritating to witness the exhilaration other players had taken to advancing in this game.

What was perhaps even more infuriating than the lack of grinding location was the lack of available quests for players. There were always a couple of generic quests that were available to every player simultaneously, but most quests had a strict limit on the amount of takers, the average usually about 10. Some of these quests had reload times, but by the time the quest had reloaded the reward was insignificant for high-levelled player, like the Serious, or me

To explain in more detail, even for a player limited quest, over a thousand players could begin the quest if they chose, but only a limited amount of players would be allowed to receive the reward for finishing it. Tensions ran high during quests, and it was not unheard of to hear of fights breaking loose between parties trying to finish quests. There had been one unfortunate case of a death when two parties had clashed rather violently, but otherwise the quest competition was mostly harmless. From my point of view though, it was only a matter of time until the super rare quests were released with ridiculously high-levelled rewards, and then we would see the true ferociousness of players.

My feet flew above the grassy ground as I alternated between gliding and sprinting along the seventh floor, looking for monsters to fight. I slashed at a few Rabid Boars that approached me, but the lack of experience and long respawn time made them inappropriate grinding monsters. The seventh floor was flat like a savannah and based on a generic African landscape. Golden brown stalks of grass puffed up from the floor, and the landscape was dotted with, green, leafy shrubs and the occasional overbearing acacia tree. The only interruption in the vast landscape was the unnatural, looming pillar in the centre of the floor that connected the seventh floor to the eighth floor of Aincrad castle.

Many Serious had already scouted the immediate area around the pillar, but like usual, they had discovered no practical or obvious entrance. Over the past seven floors, there had yet to be an entrance that was obvious. They were always deviously hidden, and unless one were looking for the exact location, they were more often than not overlooked. The major dungeons were usually discovered through specific quests that NPC's provided. I suppose the quests were a sort of "push" made by Kayaba to prevent the game from freezing to a halt.

My feet skidded against the dirt ground as a flicker of gold sparkled in the brown grass. My hands went to the giant legion sword saddled on my back, and making sure my sneak skill was active, I slowly unsheathed my weapon. A soft, calming ringing ran through my body, vibrating my ears, until finally the meter and a half weapon was fully clear of the sheathe. I gripped the weapon firmly in two hands and slowly stalked towards the flicker of gold.

The flicker was gone, but I knew the direction it had come from, and if I wasn't mistaken, I knew exactly what the flicker had been. NPC bartenders and shop owners would often discuss rumours and happenings of things that happened on their floor, and the most discussed rumour on the seventh floor was the witnessing of the Golden Grass Dragon.

The creature was supposedly practically harmless, but considered to be an ultra-rare species with a respawn rate of one week. No player had yet to see one, but a few players had mentioned seeing a golden sparkle in their adventures on these African plains.

Each step I made was slow and deliberate, as I didn't want to scare off the precious beast. Of course, I couldn't even see where it was, I was just guessing. It was possible that it had slid away already and was long gone, but I could still hope.

The dry grass that usually would've crackled under my feet was no louder than a cushion as I worked my way towards my goal. I kept my blade firmly raised above the waist high grass to avoid any contact and noises.

I planted my left foot forwards and halted my movements. I was certain that this was where I had seen the sparkle. A smooth, low wind played with the grass, and the constant shivering of the stalks made it difficult to distinguish if something was hidden. The only thing that stood out was the small red flower attached to a brown puff of grass. Slightly to my right

Despite being motionless, I felt myself freeze even more when I saw the red flower that looked so much like an iris disappear for an instant. It was almost as if the flower had blinked out of existence. It couldn't blink though. It was just a flower. On the other hand, a Golden Grass Dragon could blink, and no one had ever mentioned what colour its eyes were.

The grass suddenly exploded in movement as a winged, two foot, golden lizard burst out of hiding. It flew through the grass at ankle height, slithering its body back and forth like a snake. Its speed was insane, and before I was able to react, the stunning dragon was already meters away. Refusing to be defeated that easily I slammed my right foot into the ground and pushed myself into a sprint.

Currently, I was possibly one of the fastest players in the game, and I had yet to meet a monster that could match me in speed. Even the floor bosses lacked the necessary speed to follow me during the fights, but that was usually because they focused on outright strength and vitality. This little pest though was something else. It slid across the savannah like an arrow, never actually disturbing the grass, but sliding between the gaps of the separate stalks.

I, on the other hand, was like a fish out of water. My feet caught on patches of crackly grass, and knots in the ground caused my heavy falling feet to catch and stumble. I pushed myself to the limits of the game, something I'd rarely had to do, and relished the feeling of running faster than I ever had in my life, even including the other world. My Agility stat was now high enough that I could be considered a superhuman, the Human Jet, or something like that.

Seconds dript into minutes, and all too soon I had almost forgotten why I was running to my hearts delight. I was still chasing the obviously terrifying Golden Grass Dragon, but the reward was only half the fun now. Running was just so damn… exhilarating.

Eventually I had lost track of my surroundings and location. When I realized that I was lost the golden lizard suddenly took a sharp turn and began gliding towards a large acacia tree that had long, spanning arms and branches. I felt my emotions swell up in victory. I had finally trapped the Golden Grass Dragon. All I had to do was land one solid strike on it and the rare reward would be mine.

I sprinted towards the dragon, my two handed sword held horizontally in preparation for a killing strike, when the dragon suddenly disappeared. I would have been more surprised by the disappearing act if it were not for the sudden loss of purchase beneath my feet and an unusual sensation of falling that accompanied it.

I landed chest first on the harsh, concrete like steps that led down to an inky darkness. I groaned in annoyance as I watched the little bugger of a dragon scamper away, disappearing with a final, golden sparkle. I slowly picked myself up, examining my health bar, which had decreased slightly from the fall. 10% of my health was gone. Most players would laugh at me if they found out I'd lost this much from a simple fall, but it was truly my fault for having such a ridiculously low Vitality.

I examined the dark walls, pondering where I was. Perhaps I had discovered a secret location of a quest. Perhaps… Possibilities ran through my mind, but before I let one idea take control I let rational logic flood over me and I opened up my menu. After going through a few neon options a large, mostly empty, rectangular screen appeared in front of me. It was mostly empty, because what it displayed was mostly undiscovered.

It was a map, but more importantly, it was a map of the seventh floor major dungeon. I whistled in appreciation at my find. I would be pulling the strings this time around when it came to the boss battle and Ricochet. Then again, that guy would probably find some way to turn the situation around in his favour. I really should just stay away from him.

But it was still an incredible find, a bloody, marvellous incredible find. If I was truly the first player to discover this major dungeon, then I was free to train against any of the mobs that I wished to without competition from other players. Even more so, the dungeon would contain a vast amount of treasure chests just waiting to be plundered. Perhaps I'd be able to find a new sword, not a shop made one, but a unique blade, just like my trusty Legion Broadsword.

Was it the right thing to do though? I already had a reputation, a false one, but one nonetheless, of being a player who didn't care about the masses, and simply took what I wanted. Hoarding this dungeon's monsters and rewards solely for myself would be doing nothing but confirming those rumours that bothered me so much.

I wanted to tear my hair out, but the system obviously wasn't programmed for that. I had finally discovered something rare and incredibly useful, and now I was forced with a damned moral dilemma such as this. It was freaking frustrating. That's what it was.

Perhaps there was an alternative to what I was thinking though. I just had to think about it for a bit. I didn't want to tell Ricochet and the Serious because I wanted to hoard the rewards and make myself stronger then them. I didn't want to tell the Serious because I didn't want them to surpass me.

So… What if I were to keep it a secret from the Serious? Not forever of course. That would be impossible. They would eventually have to find this place to advance anyway. But let's just say that for a few days or even just one day, some of the Living flooded this dungeon. I would no longer be able to reap the rewards unfairly. I would be just like any of the other players. Even more importantly though, the Serious would be kept in the dark, and they would not benefit at all.

I smiled to myself. Indeed, this was a win-win situation. I hadn't had one of them for a long time, and the smile upon my face was infectious, and it took a lot of willpower to finally push down the giddy feeling in my chest. It was even harder to hide the laughter that burbled up my throat. I was glad that no one had discovered this place yet, as there would have been another rumour going around about the player called Sirius. Not only is he a hoarder, but also he's absolutely insane, a lunatic, laughs to himself inside the dungeons. Yep, that's exactly what they'd say.

Despite this alternative, the whole thing felt like a disappointment. Me and my damn morals! I picked up a stone from the dirt ground and threw it harshly at the narrowing dungeon. The resounding clinks and clatters were less then worthy of placating my frustration.

In a large huff, and an almost childish display of anger and pouting I began to turn away and leave my wondrous discovery. A blink of red and glimmer of gold froze me in my tracks however. I stared intently down the hall at the red pinprick which would disappear every few seconds for just an instant, as if the red light were blinking. Suddenly the red pinpricks grew a lot larger, and a faint rustling of wind could be heard playing on my ears.

I lifted my broadsword up into a fighting position, wary of the incoming light. Although I was certain it was the Golden Grass Dragon, which was mainly harmless, what if it had a giant, ferocious mother or something? Isn't that what happened in most dragon fairytales?

Except this wasn't a fairytale, so things didn't turn out like expected. Instead of a ferocious dragon appearing in front of me, steam broiling out of its scaly nostrils, a rather cute golden lizard with oversized wings and playful red eyes stopped several meters ahead of me.

It was neither acting like an aggressive monster, nor did it seem to be trying to flee. It was effortlessly floating openly, and rather defencelessly, in front of me. It wasn't aggressive, rather, I could've sworn it wanted to play with me, or something preposterous like that. When I saw it wink with one lazy red eye I was certain that I had gone mad. This dragon wasn't an AAI like Lily. It didn't have the capabilities to befriend, yet, for some reason it was currently toying with me.

The dragon began whipping it's long, golden tail impatiently, and began flying in quick, hazardous circles. It would float backwards into the tunnel several feet, look at me pointedly, then zip back towards me before repeating the process.

Finally, my broadsword still in my wary hands, I took a step towards the dragon, and it gave a small crow of agreement, before zipping off into the tunnel at a lightning fast speed. Not knowing what had come over me, and forgetting my earlier promise I had made to not explore the dungeon, I began my pursuit of the lizard.

It glanced behind me, it's red eyes glinting in the inky darkness, my only landmark as to where to go, and I heard it crow in excitement at being chased. I sheathed my sword upon my back, shook my head in amazement while continuing to barrel down the hallway at a tremendous speed following the two red orbs. A dragon was playing a game with me. What the hell was this world coming to?

Eventually I was lost in the spirit of the chase, and I was soon responding to the lizards crowing with bouts of laughter. We ran for a long time. Time seemed insignificant compared to the enjoyment I was experience. The walls and floor were but a blur as I sped after the golden lightning, and I relished the feeling of this inhumane speed.

After hours had faded into minutes, and seconds into hours, I realized that I was actually being led somewhere. The walls were growing lighter and lighter, and a faint, golden sheen could be distinguished on the usually dull, gray walls.

"Where are we going?" I shouted out loud to the dragon, but it just crowed in response, and I sighed at my childish imagination that it was actually going to respond to me in a language I would understand. The lack of an answer resulted in my imagination playing wildly within my mind, and strange visions of metallic golden castles and giant flying dragons played through my head. Childish, I know, but the world of SAO had opened my eyes up to many other ideas of what was possible.

After a few more minutes of running my ideal picture of a shiny golden castle was shattered. The Golden Grass Dragon had led me to a dead end. The walls and floor were still composed of the same, dull, gray material like the rest of the major dungeon, but everything was covered in a brilliant, golden, silky web.

The golden dragon crowed happily and zoomed around the small square room, ducking in between gaps of the fibrous web. I tore my gaze off of the exuberant creature and onto the small golden chest that sat in the middle of the room. It was a treasure chest.

Now here was another dilemma. Well, the same dilemma really, it's just it was being repeated again. I had promised not to take any treasure from the dungeon before informing some of the Living, but all of a sudden I was being presented with a rather lustrous looking chest.

Emotions tore within me. Survival, honesty, morals, greed, they all tore at my insides, pulling me this way and that way. Finally, not being able to take it any more, I stormed out of the room, and I would have made it, if it were not for the angry crowing of my golden friend as he blocked my path.

"You really want me to open this chest huh?" I asked, and received a cheerful gurgle of noises back. I sighed heavily, but really, I felt incredibly excited. It had yet to be heard of something like this happening, a monster in the fields purposely leading a player to treasure. Then again, it was also unheard of the way I'd acquired my Legion Blade. Perhaps I was just one of those weird players that weird things happen to.

With slow steps I walked up to the chest and knelt down in front of it. My arms shook slightly in excitement, and I was reminded of when I used to celebrate my birthday when I was young, and I would always shake when opening up my presents.

The nostalgic memory made me smile, and without further hesitate, I heaved the lid of the chest open, and stared in awe at what lay within.

* * *

**Massive, unfair cliffhanger. I'll think about providing some cables to pull you guys back up. **

****

Cheers

**-Council**


	33. To Give Them A Chance

Red eyes poked nervously out of the side of my jacket, and a soft, nervous cawing could be heard vibrating against my chest. I sighed, and reached a hand inside my Coat of Midnight. A small, cold snout nudged against my palm, and I stroked the scaly head of the Golden Grass Dragon that currently inhabited my jacket.

It seemed that the monster had "befriended" me, whatever that means. It was definitely purposeful and programmed however, as the game had clearly adapted to the dragon's presence. Beneath my health bar there was now a smaller health bar with a name attached to it.

"C'mon Goldor, if you keep moving around like that people are going to start looking," I whispered to the nervous dragon. It pined softly before fluttering about in my jacket, it's sharp claws scratching at my back as it climbed up. Finally, it poked its head up in the curve of my neck and stared intently behind me.

Some players began pointing at me, and I just sighed heavily, realizing that there was no way I could keep something like this a secret. Especially when my new pet dragon was being anything less than discreet. At least he wasn't zipping around my head as he had been when I spent a disastrous four hours trying to retrace my path and escape the major dungeon I had discovered.

It was near midday, and I hoped that there was still time enough for me to put my plan into motion. Unfortunately, I hadn't the slightest idea how I was meant to secretly gather the attention of a large amount of Living and then persuade them to follow me to the dungeon. Even if I accomplished this, night would fall in seven hours, and if it had been a fifteen minute run for me to get to the major dungeon, then it would be a one hour walk for the Living.

That meant one hour there, one hour back. I had 5 hours left, and really, at least three of those hours needed to be saved for the players to actually explore the dungeon and reap the rewards. So, through my 'complex calculating skills and my advanced mathematic techniques', I finally determined that I had about 2 hours to gather some players.

Great.

The only good news of this situation would be that the Serious were all off in the fields training and grinding, so I didn't have to worry about them overhearing anything I said. I guessed I should just go to some sort of town centre. There would certainly be players there.

Goldor's crowing alerted me to quite a large number of players gathered behind me, staring in awe at the Golden Grass Dragon poking it's head out of the back of my coat. I smiled as an idea rose to my head. I coaxed Goldor out of my jacket, and with a small nudge, sent him spiralling in tight, nervous circles around me. Players gasped at the monster in the safe zone, but their fear quickly turned to awe as they realized it was harmless.

The questions started coming as soon as one of them realized that Goldor was essentially a 'pet'.

"Where did you find him?" One player asked, his short spiky hair complimenting his short stature.

"How did you get him?" A girl asked in admiration, her eyes sparkling in longing as she watched Goldor flap his golden wings as he hovered by my side.

"Do you all want to know?" I asked, and the small crowd nodded their heads enthusiastically.

"Excellent. Gather as many of your friends as you can, and tell them to meet at the seventh floor town centre in thirty minutes," Excited chatter broke out as the players began playing with the air in front of them.

"Make sure you don't tell any Serious though!" I added quickly, and a few looked up at me curiously.

"If we tell the Serious, they'll be sure to take all the dragons, and I don't think it's very fair for the Serious to be in control of everything in this world," I explained, and every player nodded their head in understanding. The Serious were a truly disliked group of players.

"Remember, thirty minutes!" I shouted loudly, and headed towards the town centre, While Goldor clawed against my coat, trying to take subterfuge within it. I presumed that the dragon disliked being the centre of attention as much as me.

Half an hour later of sun sweltering heat, I stood in front of a crowd of possibly 300 players, all jam packed into the obviously too small town centre. Oh well, they all fit, and that was enough.

I stood up on a park bench so everyone could see me clearly, but it was more symbolic then practical, as I was already the tallest player in the midst. The chattering of the crowd died down immediately, and I felt a strange sense of power flow through me. Perhaps this is what Ricochet felt every day.

"Hello, every one!" I shouted loudly, and there were quite a few cheerful responses, which broke the initial tension I had been feeling.

"You're all probably here to listen about how I befriended a small dragon? A lot of head nodding answered my question. "Excellent! I'll tell you everything I know, but I have a feeling most of you will disappointed in the amount of information I have." It was true. The only thing I could really tell them was to chase the living day lights out of small, flying dragons.

"How do we know you actually befriended a dragon?" One player called out, and I realized that only a couple of the players here had witnessed my golden flying friend. I tickled the area around my right shoulder, and after much protesting, Goldor stuck his golden snout and lazy, red eyes out. With a bit more prodding, and some irritated sounding gargling, Goldor finally flapped his wings harshly twice, and then kicked off of my body with his talon like claws.

The crowd oohed and aahed, in fascination as they watched the two foot winged monster circle slowly around me. A few players appeared rather let down however.

"That's not a dragon, that's just a freaking winged lizard!" one of them complained loudly.

"It's classified as a Golden Grass Dragon, so I'm pretty sure it's a dragon," I responded bluntly.

"Then make it breathe fire, or do something useful."

"Does it even do anything?"

"Yeah, what's the point?"

I hesitated. What the hell did this pet do, apart from amuse the hell out of me and create a lot of attention.

"Umm, I honestly really don't what this fellow does, but I'm pretty sure he has some use. Somehow. Sometime. Somewhere." My response didn't seem to go down well with the crowd, and they looked pretty disappointed.

A young girl that was near the front of the crowd asked perhaps the next worse question.

"So, how do you befriend a monster?" She asked. She couldn't be older then sixteen, and had long, black hair that framed her face. If I weren't mistaken, I would have concluded her to be at least half Asian. She was surrounded by a small pack of boys, who also appeared to be her age. It didn't seem like they were fawning over her however. If anything, I presumed that they were a party, and had been for some time.

"Uh, well, how do you befriend a monster… Well, let's see," I said, trying to buy time as I thought of a reasonable answer. "Well, the first step is that you can't attack them," I said, and I expected to hear a tirade of angry responses at my rather obvious statement, but instead players nodded their heads thoughtfully.

"Don't just stand there and hope they don't attack you though. With my dragon, it was obvious at first that he wasn't going to attack me. In fact, he ran away from me at first," I finished lamely. The crowd laughed a bit, but they seemed eager for me to finish my story.

"The next step is the most important, I think. You have to indulge the monster. This fellow seemed to want me to chase him, and we ended up running for about twenty minutes."

"Finally, a small icon appeared on my screen, and I had the option to accept the Golden Grass Dragon as my pet. It gave me the option to name it, and then its health bar appeared on my screen."

I looked at the expectant crowd, and realizing that they were indeed expecting far more. Unfortunately, that's all I had.

"And that's it," I finished, and the players indeed looked rather dissatisfied with the information. That didn't bother me much however, I could now move forward onto the next part of my plan.

"And now, I would like to share some different kind of important information with you players." I had once again captivated their attention.

"I am telling this to you players, and not the Serious, because I don't like the way they play the game, and I think you guys need a foot up right now. Although I know there's no way I can force you to not tell any Serious player's what I'm about to show you, I think it would be in everyone's best interests to keep it a secret." More nodding and agreeing was seen, but really, that hardly meant they were going to keep to their promises. I was certain one of them would sell out to a Serious after a few hours, but a few hours might be enough for these Living to get a head start.

"I am going to show you where the entrance to seventh floor major dungeon is. Within you will be able to fight the most rewarding monsters without interference from the Serious, and you will have the first shot at discovering the treasure chests hidden within." The town centre was silent of human activity. A few birds chirped, and Goldor crowed softly in confusion, but that was it.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" One particularly eager player with a large grin on his face asked. "Show us the way!"

* * *

"What the bloody hell are you trying to accomplish Sirius?" Ricochet shouted angrily.

"What do you think I'm trying to do Ricochet?" I replied just as viciously.

"I think you're trying to create an opposing clearer group to rival mine. Although for what goddamn reason I have no idea," He shouted back.

"Maybe there should be a group to rival your clearers, because the way this is heading, they're turning into freaking dictators!" It had been 48 hours since I had let the group of Living to the major dungeon. About 24 hours ago the Serious had discovered that almost everyone except for them new of it's location, and a few hours ago I had been identified as the culprit. I hadn't even known I'd committed a crime.

"We're finishing the game as fast as we can! Everyone else needs to respect that. The sooner we leave this messed up world the better. If anyone wants to stay in this world then they're not fucking mental."

"Everyone wants to leave Ricochet, but I don't know if you've realized, we're going to be in here for at least another year. You can't let seven thousand players be pushed into the dirt like they're nothing for that long a time. It's inhumane."

"This game is inhumane Sirius!"

"No. You're the one making the game inhumane! This world could be considering wonderful to some players. A second chance at life and that sort of stuff, but you're turning this world into some over exaggerated survival of the fittest dictatorship. It's disgusting."

"Are you saying you prefer this life to your other?" Ricochet asked venomously, and I recognized that we were both reaching the end of our patience.

"No, I never said anything like that. I'm just saying you have to treat everyone equally while we're in this world, and that means allowing the lower levelled players to keep up with the Serious players from time to time."

"You're dismissed," Ricochet hissed angrily, his usually calm composure broken.

"Dismissed?" I asked.

"You're not fighting in the boss battle. You don't deserve the experience bonus if this is how you're going to play the game."

He didn't understand. He didn't understand at all. It was painful to listen to.

"I'm not playing a game Ricochet. I'm living my life. Even if I spend ten years in here, I can at least say I lived my life to the fullest. What will you say when we finally leave this world?" I stalked away, not waiting for a response. Goldor screeched angrily at Ricochet as I walked away, and continued to angrily flutter around me.

Villias blocked my exit from the room, and I snarled ferociously at him to move. He just smirked in an overconfident tone, but reluctantly let me pass.

"I'd watch your back, murderer. Ricochet ain't going to be protect you no more," he hissed at me as I stepped by him. I stopped and faced him, my gray eyes drilling into his own cowardly eyes.

"I'd watch your own back Villias, because I don't have any reason to put up with your shit anymore," I hissed back at him coldly, and watched in satisfaction as I saw a flash of fear play across his face.

"I'd make sure you actually get to fight the boss this time around Ricochet. Not everyone likes the way things have been going," I said, and with those parting words, I left the room to face the blinding sunlight of the outside world. Goldor perched himself on the back of the crook of my neck and wrapped his tail lazily around it.

"Let's go train Goldor," I said softly, and the golden dragon crowed in agreement.

* * *

Night had already fallen as I heaved the heavy wooden door open and entered the room I was currently renting. Goldor zipped past my shoulder and crashed into the open arms of Lily who giggled and laughed as she played with her new friend.

The two of them had gotten on as well as sugar and spice since they'd first met, which was a relief, because if they hadn't, well, I hadn't wanted to release Goldor, but if I had to choose, there would have been no decision. Lily was far too important to me.

"What's for dinner, what's for dinner?" Lily asked eagerly after giving me a quick greeting hug.

"I bought curry and rice. Have you ever had curry before?" I asked Lily, her face blank in uncertainty.

"No, but if you like it then I'm sure I will," she said happily, and I laughed cheerfully as I began setting up the table. Unlike the other world, all I had to was push a few buttons, and bowls of steaming food began appearing on the dining table. A few more finger movements and two large glasses of a particular orange fizzy drink appeared at either side of the table.

Lily skipped over to a chair, tucked herself in, and began devouring the bowl of rice. I quickly stopped her, and showed her how to pour the curry on first, and to mix the two together. Goldor stole bits and pieces from Lily's meal when he thought I wasn't looking. Lily loved to spoil him, but I thought it was rather bad table manners.

I snorted into my food. Here I was in a completely different world with dragons, swordsman and murderers running loose, and all I'm thinking about are table manners. Mum would be proud.

Dinner usually cheered me up quite greatly, what with the joyful company of Lily, and now Goldor, but today my mood became increasingly sour. Ricochet had banned me from the boss fight. That meant about four solid days worth of experience that I was being forced to sacrifice. It was outrageous, but ultimately, there was nothing I could do. Ricochet really had full control over the boss fight members.

For possibly the first time in this world, I began to feel what the Living probably felt every day of their life. They were just trying to live their life, do what they wanted, become strong enough to protect someone or something, and a couple of snobbish players were screwing that up for everyone.

Could I organize my own boss raid? The thought flooded across my mind, but was quickly evaporated. Players still did not trust the supposed murderer named Sirius. The fake wanted posters Red had made had helped an incredible amount with hiding my identity, but if I were to go and advertise myself for a boss raid, all that would have been for nothing.

I wasn't stupid enough to attempt to fight the boss solo. That was suicide. Even if I had one full party of experience players, it was still suicide. Really, you needed the maximum seven parties to fight a boss, as you needed players to deal with the minions that aided the boss, and you needed enough parties to switch out and be able to heal.

Of course, only the Serious and a few players like me knew that. None of the Living had ever dealt with a boss before, and the consequences would obviously be catastrophic if they ever tried to fight one. I bet that none of them knew about the sudden change in battle style each of the floor bosses activate when they reached their last bar of health.

I was just thinking too much about it all. My head was beginning to hurt, and I realized that I was heavily mentally exhausted from the today's training and the argument with Ricochet. I told Lily that I was going to go to bed, to which she barely responded as she was playing happily with Goldor, and headed to my room.

Before I managed to close the bedroom door a loud rapping vibrated through the room, and I recognized the noise to be a player knocking on the front door. I swore tiredly, my sleeping delayed, made my way to the front entrance and yanked opened the solid wooden door.

I blinked in surprise at the six players gathered around my doorstep. There were five guys, and I couldn't remember ever seeing any of them for the life of me.

"S-sorry for interrupting y-you," the sixth member of the group, and the only girl, stammered. In a flash of recognition I remembered her from the meeting I'd held two days ago. She was the sixteen year old Asian girl who'd asked about my pet dragon. In fact, as I looked at the surrounding guys, I realized they were all around the age of sixteen. I wasn't sure what they were here for, but it felt rude to simply leave them on the doorstep.

"Its fine, you're not interrupting anything. Come on in, that is, if you want to be in the same house as a supposed murderer," I said as I stepped away from the door and made room for them to enter. The guys walked in first, and I was unsurprised that they were incredibly suspicious of me. I sighed, realizing that my earlier statement may not have been the best choice.

Finally they were all gathered in the tiny living room, a few of them on the couch, but all facing me as I sat cross legged on the floor in front of them. Lily and Goldor could be seen peeking out of their bedroom door, and I gestured for them with my finger to come over. Lily skipped toward me and dropped herself onto my lap. Goldor quickly followed, and was soon wrapping his glittery body around my forearm and nuzzling his snout into Lily's stomach.

The guys all raised their eyebrows at this display, and I just raised my eyebrows back at them. The Asian girl on the other hand began cooing. Smirking at the surrounding guys, I gave Lily a small nudge, and understanding the meaning, she skipped over to the girl and sat herself down in front of her. The Asian girl began playing with Lily's hands and stroking her hair.

"She's so adorable," the girl said softly, all sign of her earlier stutter gone.

"That she is," I replied genuinely. The guy's were beginning to relax around me, but they didn't seem to like this connection I'd just made with their girl. Oh well, they would just have to suck it up.

"Now, why don't you tell me why you're all here?" I asked this strange group that was crowded in my small living room.

* * *

The tallest of the group had short, messy brown hair, and seemed to be the most tender of the players there. He remained perpetually nervous of me the whole time he remained in the room. He reminded me of a mouse hiding in its hole in the wall, poking its nose out just far enough to see where the cat was. His name, ironically enough, was Whisker.

If I was going by height, then obviously the next appropriate player would be the shortest one, and by short, I meant short. This guy must have been 5'2, and he would have been a joke if it weren't for the one tonne metallic green sledgehammer strapped across his back. This player went by the name of Thrash.

Now that I'd removed the extremes, it seemed useless to keep going by height. I'd just mix up all the ones in between. Therefore, the next most obvious guy would have to be the one with the biggest mouth, both literally and figuratively. His large, gaping lips seemed to cover the entire bottom half of his face. What was surprising were that the massive lips didn't necessarily make the teenager's face unpleasant, but rather seemed to compliment it. The player was named Jaxx, and it was impossible to get him to shut up once he began talking.

In accordance to features that stand out, the next would be the player that looked physically overweight. I didn't want to be mean, but obese was one of the nicest way's to describe him. The whole ridiculousness of the situation however was that this heavy man was the "thief" of the team. He had the highest Agility stat of the group, making him the most nimble of all. If only he hadn't named his avatar Burger I may have been able to respect him for that.

The last male in the room, other than me, I had been forced to leave for last because really, he had no outstanding characteristics about him. He was of average height, 5'7 or so, with common brown eyes. Dark brown hair, practically black, fell down to his ears, and lay naturally, neither straight nor curly, but somewhere in between. His name was Prince, a rather fancy name in comparison to his looks.

And the reason why these five, sixteen year old male players were gathered in my room was for the single sixteen year old girl who travelled with them. Long, straight, silky black hair flowed down her face to her lower back, and her narrow eyes held the traces of soft brown eyes. She had a thin complexion, but it was nothing compared to Red, who looked dangerously in threat of shattering. This Asian girl's name was Iris, and she was most definitely a unique delicacy in the world of SAO, where girls were sorely outnumbered.

The group had finally finished retelling their story to me. It had taken the good part of an hour, but I think I finally understood everything.

"So, to summarize, you guys found a super quest, it's too hard for you to fight on your own, but you don't want to involve the Serious who'll steal the rewards?" I asked, and a few of the players nodded in agreement.

"And why do you think that I won't steal the rewards. I'm practically a Serious, aren't I? If truth be told, my name was where the origin of the Serious had arisen from." My company looked nervous at this, but remained steadfast in their decision.

"You told the Living about the seventh floor major dungeon before the Serious, and gave the weaker players a leg up. Even more so, you sacrificed an incredible amount of experience and treasure you could have collected on your own and instead you tried share it with players like us," Jaxx said, and Burger interrupted him before he could spew out any more words.

"If we can't trust you with this, then we honestly don't know who we'd be able to trust at all in this world," Burger finished honestly, and his group all murmured in agreement.

I looked over this strange, young group that had come to me for help. Me, Sirius, the supposed murder! I couldn't tell if they were out of their minds or geniuses. Either way, I simply couldn't not help them after they'd gone out of their way to explain this to me, so I reluctantly accepted their proposal.

"Fine, I'll help you," I said. The six players suddenly exploded in a small cheer of triumph and joy and I involuntarily flinched at the rowdy display of celebration. A small smile forced its way upon my face as I looked at these eager players, and I realized that perhaps my damaged reputation was not completely irreparable.

* * *

**Six new player's, in one chapter, wow. I'm just overwhelming myself here. I hope you don't drown in confusion and irritation. On a brighter note, I've almost reached 100 reviews, woohoo! When I started writing this, I honestly did not expect to receive this kind of feedback and community from you guys, so thanks so much! I hope this motivates me to finish this ever lengthening adventure.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	34. To Tutor Violence

I grimaced unhappily, both at being up early and at the rather barbaric display of fighting I had just witnessed from the young party of six. I had set the meeting time for six in the morning, which I now thoroughly regretted, but the choice had been essential. If this truly was an incredibly rare quest, then we had limited time to finish if before another party, probably one composed of Serious, stormed their way through and stole the reward.

Before we ventured out however I had been adamant to observe the teenagers fighting skills and to learn their limitations. They had proudly stated last night that they were all in the double figures in terms of levels, so they were not hopeless. Or at least, that's what I had thought.

The kind of fighting I had just witness was… horrendous. It was barbaric, it was primal, and it was disgusting. They fought with no regard for their own safety. If the clearers fought like these players then they would all be dead in the first hour of a floor boss battle.

"So, what do you think?" Thrash asked proudly, his short chest puffed out.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Whisker added, his head raised proudly. I was secretly pleased that despite his height, he was still forced to look up at me.

They looked at me expectantly for an answer, and I realized they were not going to like what I was about to say.

"What the hell did I just watch? That was appalling, disgusting, and dangerous! You guys are lucky that those monsters were half your level else some of you would've died during that battle." My words were not kind, and they were not meant to be. I needed to drill into them the importance of fighting seriously.

"If I wasn't mistaken, I would say that you six are treating this like it's a game or something. I hope you don't think that's funny Jaxx, or you're going to be the first one to die." Jaxx's smile was swept from his face immediately.

"None of you fought together. Why? You have a party of six people, so use that to your advantage. When I told you to fight those six monsters, I didn't mean each player is to fight their own enemy. I wanted to see how you fight as a team, and how you plan to survive."

"From now on, while you're with me, you're no longer six players, but a party of six. Do you understand what that means?" they shook their heads tentatively.

"Ok then, let's try this. What do you _think_ it means?" I asked, drilling into them like my lecturer at high school would have done to struggling students.

I was surprised when it was Iris that attempted an answer. "Th- that we fight together?" she asked, a small stammer in her voice.

"I'd prefer if you didn't answer with a question," I said plainly, to which she blushed. "And I'd prefer if you answered with more depth. What does it mean to fight together?" None of them answered, and I realized that unless some sort of life changing experience occurred, none of these players would ever be ready to be a Serious and face the floor bosses.

"It means all six of you fight against one opponent, together. You don't stop fighting together until that one opponent is dead, and then, all of you, together, move towards the next opponent."

"You fight together!"

"But that's so boring, it's not like any of these monsters can kill us, even if the way we fight is sloppy," Burger complained. Despite being the fastest of his party, his whining attitude reminded me all too much of the lazy kind of kid he must have been in the other world.

The group was testing my patience, but I had promised them I would help, and it appeared that anything I told them at this point would be beneficial to lengthening their lives. I turned to Burger and began berating him.

"That's because you only target monsters that are clearly levels below you. In fact, almost every monster you can possibly find so far are levels below us because of the way we player's clear the floors. We over level ourselves so that the floor bosses are defeatable without any casualties."

"But even though we do that, there are still casualties. The deaths are unavoidable, but they can be prevented more often then not by fighting smart. Try thinking with your head when you fight, and not with your ego."

They players I were lecturing had expressions that ranged from embarrassment and shame to anger and frustration.

"The way I've fought so far has worked perfectly. I don't need to change, and I don't want you to tell me I have to change," Burger complained. I sighed, but I realized a way I could convince him that his fighting style was simply… barbaric.

I opened my menu, and after navigating the holographic, neon screen I finally located the duelling menu, and sent a duel offer to Burger. It was a "safe duel" or a duel in which the winner was decided by the first clean hit or when one's health dropped below 50%. I just hoped one clean hit from me wouldn't do too much damage.

"What's this?" Burger asked dumbly.

"It's a duel offer," I replied.

"I know that, I'm not stupid," he said defensively, "but why are we fighting?"

"So I can show you just how flawed your fighting style is," I said, and he didn't seem to take my answer very well.

"Don't expect me to hold back," Burger said as he withdrew a short, wicked looking machete in his right hand. Despite his overweight build, Burger had gone for the speedy nimble class, just another reminder that anything was possible in SAO, it was truly your second life.

"That's the whole point," I said back to Burger, just before the countdown ended, "you're not meant to hold back in a duel." The timer hit zero, a loud ding was played, and I whipped my Legion Broadsword off of my back. Burger's machete was held in an aggressive attacking stance, but vulnerabilities that he left almost made me wince. I could win this duel with just one Ghost Rush.

But I wasn't duelling flaunt my strength. I wanted to show him how detrimental his fighting style was to his life. So instead of activating one of my powerful skills I simply ran towards him with my two handed sword raised above my head in preparation for a vertical slash.

I purposely held back on my true speed, as I didn't want him to think the only reason his style was flawed was because I was overpowered. I still saw him blink in shock however, and I realized he had not expected a two handed sword user to have so many points in Agility.

Instead of blocking, or even dodging, as any normal player should do, he simply ran at me while activating his own sword skill. His machete glowed purple as he activated a horizontal slash at my chest. Instead of continuing with my initial, chargin attack, I stopped in my tracks, and his sword skill played out a whole meter in front of me.

"That was hopeless, were you even trying to hit me?" I said, taunting him to go further, so I could crush all aspects of his ridiculous fighting strategy.

He gave an angry shout and ran at me, this time without a sword skill active and launched three quick, successive attacks. I dodged the first two, and bounced the second one off of my broadsword, and then looked in confusion as he backed off quickly and appeared to wait for something.

"Why did you stop attacking me, you had the advantage?" I asked Burger.

"Because that's how you fight isn't it? You trade blows, or more often than not, you trade sword skills," he answered. Wrong answer, I thought to myself.

Careful not to apply too much speed or strength to my strikes I suddenly went on the aggressive. I sent strike after strike at Burger who scrambled, and weakly defended with his flimsy blade. He eventually slipped up after my seventh slash, but I stopped my weapon before it pierced his technologic flesh.

"Dead," I said simply.

"No, I'm not dead. That wouldn't have taken away even a quarter of my health," he whined.

"Against a level five monster like you usually fight, perhaps, but against a real enemy, like the one that you might be facing in a few hours, no, that strike would have meant your death."

Burger looked stunned, as if he had never thought about the consequences of fighting higher levelled monsters. Realizing that he was completely distracted, I swung my sword, in a rather obnoxious slow swing that stopped at his neck.

"Dead again," I said.

"Not fair, I wasn't ready," he whined again.

"The system doesn't care if you're ready or not." I swung my sword once more. "Dead a third time."

"Stop it," he shouted, and lashed out with his machete. I skipped backwards to avoid the attack, and he followed it up with another horizontal based sword skill. As soon as the sword skill was finished he stepped back again, waiting for me to make my move. It was infuriating. Could he not learn?

"This isn't chess or something, it's a sword fight. You don't give your opponent a chance to make their move. Rather, you see how many moves you can make before your opponent can respond," and to prove this, I began my assault. My sword rained down upon him, and this time he lasted until the twelfth attack, and my broadsword rested upon the top of his temple.

"Dead," I said. Burger screamed in frustration and began to attack me. It was three simple slashes, and I was prepared for him to jump back and let me have a shot at him, but instead he kept going. He chained his attacks together and continued to push me backwards. I slid and rolled, blocked and defended as his assault continued. I felt a grin rising to my face. He had finally changed his fighting style. After a whole minute of being barraged by him I decided to put an end to the duel though. We were wasting precious questing time.

For the first time since the duel had begun, I showed the observing party members my true speed. One instant Burger was launching a sword skill at my seemingly undefended body, and the next instant I was behind Burger, my sword tearing up the side of his body. My sword drained about 60% of his health, and the duel was concluded.

Burger looked utterly defeated, and the watching players looking scared. They now realized that for the whole duel, despite me completely dominating and obviously being the better dueller, I had been holding back. That, more than anything else I had tried to teach them in this brief lesson, stunned them into just how different they were compared to me.

"I want you to all understand, the reason I won was not necessarily because I was higher levelled," I looked at them all slowly, trying to assure myself that they all understood the point of the lesson. "The reason I won was because I valued my life when I fought, and I treated the fight like it was real. You all must realize that fighting in this world is real, and to treat it like it's not will result in your death sooner than later. I can assure that much."

"This world we're living in isn't a game. It's real life. You would do well to remember that." The seriousness behind my words seemed to sink into the players, and I gave a solid nod when I determined that my lesson was complete.

"Excellent, now that we've all learnt about how to fight, let's begin this quest," I said, and the party that was once exhilarated to be questing with me began to trudge off despondently towards the seventh floor major dungeon.

* * *

"Retreat! Retreat!" I ordered loudly as the ragtag party in my protection began sprinting towards me.

"Don't show him your backs, you idiots!" I shouted at them, to which they responded by halting all movements, and turning to face the six foot tall rabid dog.

"And don't just stand there either. Retreat backwards while facing your opponent! Do I need to tell you how to do everything!" Honestly, were these players trying to kill themselves? I counted them off as they slowly backed up behind me.

"Burger, Iris, Whisker, Thrash, Jaxx and Prince. All right, that's all of us. Now keep retreating until we're outside of the arena," I said, continuing to issue orders. The young teenagers continued to back away nervously toward the large double doors several meters behind them that promised safety and comfort.

I held my ground, determined to be the last one to leave the danger of the room. I glanced behind me, and Iris gave me a thumbs up signal that everyone was safe. I turned my attention back in front of me and was surprised to discover the giant dog that rivalled me in height charging me. I jumped to the side like a bullfighter does with a charging bull, and the dog scampered on its feet as it scrambled to change its direction.

I didn't wait for the dog to recover however, and made a beeline for the safety of the double doors. As I passed into safety the large doors slammed shut behind me violently, and all traces of the oversized feral dog disappeared instantly.

"What was that about not showing the enemy your back?" Jaxx, the one with the big mouth, reprimanded.

"He was sufficiently distracted that time, all right?" I replied defensively, but there was a smile on my face as I joked with him. I took a deep breath to wash away any mental exhaustion that had built up in the impromptu retreat and began quizzing the party in front of me.

"So, what did we learn from our scouting?" I asked.

"That there's a six foot slobbering puppy dog in there that wants to rip our heads off. Worse, that thing goes by the name of "Fluffy"," Thrash said, sounding rather irritated at the whole thing. Everyone else laughed at his childish pouting.

"Anything else?" I asked after the laughing had died down, edging them to think harder.

"It- It had three health b-bars," Iris stammered, her normally well-groomed black hair currently rather dishevelled.

"Very good. What about it's fighting style?" I asked, continuing my interrogation.

"No observable sword skills, but that's not surprising as it is an animal, and can hold no weapons," Prince said quietly. That kid never spoke much, the quietest out of all the players in his party, but when he did speak it was with great insight. "Its attacks are still incredibly powerful without sword skills though. We can withstand no more than three attacks each before dying. The charge, which it appears had a cool down applied to it, is far more powerful than a regular attack, and can remove about 50% of health with a direct hit."

"Impressive," I said, and I truly meant it. The kid wasn't done however.

"If we are to fight it we should split into three groups, two players per group. Only one group fights at a time, while one group heals, and one group is at full health. This will ensure that in an emergency there is always one battle-ready group to take over the situation. Groups are to switch immediately after a direct hit or when one of the players health falls below 70%."

"Excellent, couldn't have said it better myself," I said honestly. Prince's party members were looking at him in surprise. Obviously he didn't speak out like this very often.

"An important lesson I think you all learned just then is that you should let Prince speak his thoughts aloud more often. He has an eye for detail." I saw Prince blush slightly as his friends patted him on the shoulder and congratulated him on receiving praise from me. We had all discovered, me included, that I was a very harsh instructor.

"We have our battle plan set up. What do you think is next?" I asked.

"We fight!" Thrash shouted, and Whisker joined in with him, albeit far more timidly. That was not the answer I wanted to hear though.

"Idiots," I muttered softly, but they still heard me clearly and quickly shut up, aware they'd said the wrong thing.

"We prepare," Burger said, and I nodded at him to continue. After my less then humbling victory over him, he had begun to pay very close attention to how I fought and what I was looking for in others. Out of all the players in this party, it was he who understood the most what it meant to fight a real battle, and thus he would be the most reliable in the upcoming boss fight.

"We should check to make sure we have sufficient potions. I'd say we want at least 10 each, as that allows us for 10 rotations each, or 30 rounds in total to defeat the boss. That's 10 rounds per health bar, and from what we witnessed earlier, that should be possibly," Burger said, continuing his descriptions of preparation.

"Correct, however, I believe that you should always over prepare, so 12 potions each would be sufficient. Anything else you guys can think of that we might want to prepare?"

Iris held out her crumbling spear, which had disintegrated greatly over the course of the day. Spears were a weapon class that had a low durability, unfortunately for her.

"We should all check our equipment's conditions. It wouldn't do for everything to suddenly disappear and shatter as we fight," Iris concluded.

"Perfect," I said, congratulating her, to which I received a small, shy smile. They had now listed everything that I would consider before a boss fight, but I didn't want to limit them to just these possibilities, so I continued to quiz them.

"Anything else we should prepare for?"

They looked at each other, but I could tell from the blank expressions on their faces that they were having trouble coming up with anything. I noticed that Burger wasn't contributing to the expressionless exchange going on, and instead looked thoughtful.

"Yes, Burger?" I asked, prompting him to speak up. His silence now could mean death later on.

He shook his head, not wanting to say what he was thinking, but he finally relented after his friends encouraged him.

"We should be prepared to lose a friend," he said quietly, and I knew then that he had finally taken my earlier lesson to heart. He finally understood that they weren't playing a game, but that they were playing life.

Thrash, Whisker and Jaxx all began conversing with Burger, telling him that nothing would go wrong, and that he was just thinking negatively and bringing down the group. Burger began to look ashamed of what he'd said, but he had no right to be. It was one of the most truthful statements I had heard leave his mouth yet. I was relieved that both Prince and Iris appeared to understand where Burger was coming from, and refused to make fun of Burger like the others.

"He's right, you know," I said, and the three guys shut right up. "When you walk into this fight, you have to understand that not all of you may leave. Goodness knows I've seen more then enough Serious fall in the frontlines."

"For now, we're going back to the city to repair our equipments and restock on health potions. While you're there you should think seriously about whether you really want to risk your lives to fight against this boss for the simple reward of experience and treasure."

* * *

We arrived back at the entrance to Fluffy's arena three hours later. It was four in the afternoon, and hopefully we would be done with the boss in an hour, two at the most, giving us at least one hour to retreat to a safe zone before night fell. The party in front of me looked grim, especially so when compared to the playful attitude they had displayed earlier. Although it had been me that had drilled this no-nonsense attitude into them, I found that I missed their bantering.

"Alright everyone, weapons set?" They nodded in affirmation. "Armour set? Good. How about potions, how many have you got?"

"Fifteen each," Burger replied, and he smirked when I raised an eyebrow. "I think it was you that said we should always over prepare?" He said, and the group snickered at me.

"Good point. There's never any harm in over preparing," I admitted, conceding to Burger's point. That kid was really taking my words to heart.

"Well, I think that means we're ready to go. Anyone thinking of backing out?"

No one hesitated. They were ready.

"Then let's go!" I roared, and with a mighty push the large double doors were forced open and we made our way inside to fight a six foot rabid puppy dog that went by the name of "Fluffy".

* * *

When the battle was over, the six players looked at each other in exhaustion, and each face held visible relief that the party of six was indeed still a party of six. Now that the sounds of battle were gone the large room was quiet save for the heavy breathing of players.

Jaxx looked at me nervously. "Are we allowed to celebrate?" he asked, and it took all my willpower not to laugh at him. I had truly changed the way these players thought. Whether that was for the better or the worse I had yet to know.

"After you've won a battle like this, I think you're allowed to do whatever you want Jaxx," I said, and the small party burst into cheers. I smiled at them. They truly deserved this. They had fought long and hard for this. They had gone through 11 whole rotations, meaning each player had four health potions left, and the battle had lasted just over 90 minutes. They had fought just as well as the Serious did on the front lines.

"Hurry up and collect your reward so we can finish the quest, we need to get back before nightfall," I said, and the party eagerly rushed over to the other side of the room where a small, single door was now unlocked. Goldor flapped down beside me and perched himself on my shoulder. I absentmindedly scratched beneath his neck and he purred softly in contentment.

Throughout the battle Goldor had acted as my second set of eyes, screeching loudly when a pair were fighting with less than appropriate health, or if there were no reinforcements ready and I was temporarily needed. I had been forced into the battle three times. Twice because there were no ready battle pairs, and once when the teenager's had lowered Fluffy's health to the last bar. The giant dog had snapped and gone into berserk mode. The party was unprepared for the sudden shift in battle style, and I had been forced to deal with the rabid dog for a few minutes as they all healed and carefully relearned the attack patterns.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard approaching chatter and stiffened when I realized that it was not coming from the direction of the treasure room, but from the giant double doors. Another questing party was approaching the room. Goldor unwrapped himself from my shoulder and fluttered up towards the ceiling to, once again, act as my second set of eyes. Meanwhile, I reassuringly stroked the handle of the broadsword on my back. We were not in a safe zone right now, and outright assault from the incoming party was more than possible.

A party of three players heaved the giant double doors open and I recognized them immediately as Serious from the front lines. They were clad in expensive and unique looking gear that caused a strange sense of mismatch and an unfashionable appearance. It was clear they had simply thrown on their best equipment they had scavenged in dungeons despite what appearances that might portray.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?" one of the Serious asked. So they knew my name did they? Well, that was a damn shame because I could remember faces, but names continued to elude me.

"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm finishing a quest," I said, praying that the young party of six stayed in the treasure room for a while longer. It would do no good if the Serious discovered I was still helping the Living, even after being reprimanded by Ricochet for my earlier stunt.

"I… see…" Another Serious said slowly, and I realized that I hadn't fooled him. This player knew there was something I was hiding.

"You don't believe me?" I asked him pointedly, to which the player quickly raised his hands in apology.

"Oh no, any of us could defeat this mini-boss solo with ease. I'm just so… surprised to see you out here… on your own…"

"I'm always on my own aren't I?" I asked him, irritated at the direction in where this conversation was going. Still, if Prince and the others just stayed behind for a few minutes longer this could be dealt with peacefully.

The three Serious laughed, knowing full well the truth of my statement. I was Sirius the supposed murder. No one wanted me in this world according.

"Yes, yes, I do suppose you're right, _Sirius_," he said, mockery high on his voice when he uttered my name."

"Would you be so kind to show us what you received from the boss?"

"Oh yes, that's an… excellent idea. Yes, please Sirius… show us… what you received from the boss."

"I don't need to show you three anything," I spat at them viciously.

"Need is such a harsh word Sirius. Surely you could just simply 'want' to show us, and perhaps even share some of the rewards with us."

I drew my broadsword in a slow, casual motion, letting the ominous metallic ringing sound vibrate throughout the large room. Fire danced in my eyes as I glared at the opposing Serious. I needed to get them to leave, now.

"I don't 'want' to have anything to do with any of you. There's nothing left here, and I suggest you leave immediately." The three Serious looked at each other, and I saw some soft chattering going on, and I wished I had Red here with her Eavesdropping skill to be able to hear what they were saying. I seemed to get the gist though. They didn't really want to fight me. Hopefully they'd be leaving in a minute.

Suddenly a loud screech rang through the room, and I swore loudly as Goldor informed me that the party of six were leaving the treasure room. The Serious jumped in shock at the noise, but they didn't seem surprised to see the dragon. I supposed that news of my pet had already spread among the Serious.

"What's going on here Sirius?" Jaxx asked, eyeing the newcomers disdainfully. It was clear, even to the unpractised eye, that the three players were Serious.

"Those aren't Serious," One of the newcomers hissed, and then the three turned to glare at me, venom in their eyes.

"You've been helping the Living again, haven't you?" They snarled, a threat laced in the words as they said them.

"So what if I have, I'm not a Serious, and thanks to Ricochet, I'm not even a clearer. I'm not bound to your rules whatsoever," I said, struggling to contain my anger. A fight now would be deadly.

"Rules? What Rules?" Whisker asked nervously, his hand fidgeting in fear.

"Serious aren't supposed to help the Living. It's considered criminal," I said, spitting the world 'criminal' out of my mouth like I'd swallowed something disgusting.

"And for a good reason. We're trying to save you kids from this world. The more experience and better equipment we get the sooner we will all escape, and the sooner everyone will be happy."

"Why don't you understand this Sirius, you goddamned traitor."

"There's always two sides to every story, you know," I said, trying to keep the discussion from turning into a battle. Jaxx, Thrash and Whisker seemed more then ready to fight head to head with these players that were obviously levels above them.

I took a step forwards and weapons were suddenly being drawn from both sides, albeit much faster from the Serious. I ignored the action and simply position myself between the two groups.

"You three," I said, gesturing at the Serious, "Should leave right now, or there is going to be a lot of death occurring in the next few minutes, and we both know who it will happen to." In this kind of situation, all six players behind me would die before I would be able to kill the three Serious. The three Serious would fall to my blade quickly though while they were distracted by the lower level kids.

If a fight broke out now, everyone would die except for me.

I could not let that kind of horror occur.

The three Serious seemed to have a strong life preservation need running through their system, so they sheathed their weapons and reluctantly began to leave the room.

"Know this Sirius, you've made more enemies than friends in this world. If you're not yet afraid for your own life, then I'd start feeling afraid for the lives of your few friends." The Serious stared at the teenagers hidden behind me. "Especially if they can't fight for themselves."

The three players stalked out of the room in anger, and I breathed heavily in relief that bloodshed had been avoided. Burger looked incredibly relieved, and I had a feeling he was the only one of the six who had realized just how close he had come to the end of his life. Thrash, Jaxx, Whisker and Prince on the other hand were furious.

"Why'd you let them go Sirius. We could've handled them."

"Yeah, we destroyed that boss dog, a couple of Serious is nothing compared to that."

I stared at them like they were freaking idiots, which they were. "Listen, I'm going to knock your ego down a few notches right now, but only because you need it."

"I could've defeated Fluffy on my own. Solo. I probably could have done it without using a single health potion too." They all looked at me in disbelief. Except for Burger of course. He had fought me one on one, and had personal experience, even if for only an instant, of my true speed and strength.

"Now, those three Serious, each and every single one of them are stronger then me by a whole level. Perhaps some of them were even two whole levels stronger."

"If it wasn't for me, all six of you would be dead right now."

At that point, Goldor came crashing down into my chest in exhaustion, and I tucked him snugly between my coat and my arm. His long tail wrapped itself around my forearm for support and he closed his lazy red eyes in exhaustion.

"I know Goldor, I'm exhausted too. It's time to go home," I said to the now already sleeping dragon.

* * *

**Long Chapter, or at least long for my standards :) Considering I'm blasting them out every two days I'm pretty happy with the length. With that being said, I wrote ahead a few chapters, and then messed up a huge plot idea, so i had to scrap like 20,000 words. I hope none of you have ever had to feel that pain before. I felt so hollow afterwards :/  
****On a more cheerful note, 101 reviews, WOOT, cheers to Blinded in a Bolthole for securing the 100th. Thanks for all the great feedback you've given me buddy!  
****And everyone else too! All the feedbacks great! I just hope you all keep reading.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	35. A Threatening Summoning

**Quick prenote. There is a small scene involving the consumption of alcohol. I'm sure it won't offend you wonderful people, but just know it's there.**

* * *

_I demand your presence at my temporary headquarters this very instant. If you dare to ignore me the consequences will be harsh._

_-Ricochet_

If the message had been delivered by paper, I would have crumpled the flimsy sheet in my fist and grinded it until it lost the last of it's durability and was removed from the world. This message however, was electronic, and appeared in a glowing neon green box in front of me. With a few angry swipes I tore the box out of sight and continued with my activities.

My activities involved training. I had only 5% more experience left in my bar until I levelled up to level 17. It had been so long since I had felt that glorious power up, and I was more than eager to be able to move faster and swing stronger. Eleven days it had been since I last levelled up, and if it weren't for the substantial experience bonus Fluffy had given me I would have estimated that it would have been a fifteen day levelling up process.

It hadn't helped in the slightest that Ricochet, true to his word, had led his Builders to fight the seventh floor boss without me. The loss of possible experience threw me further behind the leading Serious. Although no players had yet to hit the twenties, there were definitely a few Serious at level 19. That was two whole levels above me, and about two weeks of training. I was growing steadily worried about Ricochet and his group of super powered Builders. If this kind of favouritism was kept up, soon no one would be able to oppose Ricochet.

The Living, or the 'soon to be Serious' could grind as much as they wanted in the wilderness, but mobs simply didn't provide adequate experience. I was certain that Kayaba had programmed this deliberately, so that there would be technical level barriers at each floor. Players would not be able to abuse the level balance and solo players would never be able to fight head to head with a floor boss. Kayaba wanted this world to be a challenge. He wanted us to live, and if that meant being forced to fight for our lives when boss time came around, then so be it. Unfortunately, the boss battles were beginning to throw everything out of order.

Although levels were near impossible to raise, skills were a different matter. I was raising my skills by several levels a day. Because skills did not directly alter one's physical abilities in the field, but instead simply provided new gimmicks and tricks, they were allowed to be raised to ridiculous proportions. My two handed sword skill was high above 300, and it was estimated by players that we would be able to max out at 1000. I was over a third of the way to maxing my main fighting skill. As long as there wasn't some bizarre learning curve, I should be way on my way to maxing out my skills in a few months.

But today I wasn't focused on training my skills. Today, I was focused on going out into the fields and destroying every living thing I came across in hopes of accumulating a massive amount of experience. Where to go though? The eighth floor fields were teeming with players, and it was detrimental for me to go down a floor to train, the monsters were simply far too weak.

That really only left the seventh floor major dungeon, which really wasn't all that great either. The Serious had begun to systematically tear their way through the giant maze, claiming treasure upon treasure as their own and excluding the other 7000 players from any kind of reward. The fact that Ricochet had sent me a summoning order meant that the Serious probably also knew about my rebellious actions. I was currently in a state of 'wanted by Ricochet', and the Serious in the major dungeon would not take kindly to my presence.

Well, no matter. If they got really rowdy I'd just flee. As far as I could tell, there was yet a player who had a higher Agility stat than me. There were a few players who beat me in Strength, but those few players were devastatingly slow tanks. Most players had split their accumulated stat points rather evenly, or even more common, placed an abundantly idiotic amount of points into Vitality. They had some idea that more health meant they wouldn't die. I snorted. It only meant that they'd lose more health before finally dying.

With my mind made up to venture to the major dungeon I quickly fled the safety of the tribal like city I was staying in and entered the African-like plains, similar to the previous floor. Goldor flew in front of me, crowing cheerfully as his body snaked through the golden wild grass. I picked up the pace and tried to overtake him, but he let out a sheer shrill when he discovered his competition and sped off. With a quick laugh, and a burst of energy at my feet, I accelerated after the Golden Grass Dragon.

All too soon Goldor had led me to the entrance of the major dungeon. I thanked him, and began to step inside, but a loud warning crow from the flying dragon forced me to jump backwards and hastily draw my broadsword. I squinted into the darkness of the major dungeon and cursed my low perception skill. Despite having trained my Searching skill time and time again, I had not wished to spend stat points on Perception, so my ability with the Searching skill was absurdly useless. I sighed. It was just another drawback to my unorthodox build. No health, no ability to predict ambushes, just plain reflexes and the movement of my body.

When after several seconds I saw no movement and heard no sound, I decided to take a gamble.

"I know you're there, come out and I won't hurt you!" I shouted into the inky darkness while praying that the supposed threat would play along with me.

"Do you really? Or is your pet that's that smart one this time round?" said a low, rumbling, ominously familiar voice. A cloaked player stepped out of shadows, and an orange player marker popped into existence above his head once the system had determined that my skills were enough to detect him. The system wouldn't tell me his name. Names could only be discovered through mutual consent or party affiliation, but I already knew the name of this particular player.

"What do you want Perilous, I've done what you asked for. I think you promised to leave me alone after that," I shouted out bravely, trying to hide the fear and worry that was tearing my insides to pieces. Perilous scared me like no other player I knew.

"Actually, I never promised I'd leave you alone, I only ever promised to let that girl go," Perilous said, his low, vibrating voice penetrating and shaking the ground around us like a growling earthquake. Perhaps that was only my imagination, but it damn well felt like my world was shaking. Perhaps I was the one shaking?

"Fine then, so be it. Why are you here now?" I asked, desperately wishing I could be anywhere but here. The only reason I wasn't running was because Perilous appeared to be trying to be diplomatic, and had his scythe not just sheathed, but banished to his inventory.

"I've come to warn you. Stop helping the Living, or you will live to regret it."

My heart skipped a beat, which was saying something considering my heartbeat was running on a program within the computer mainframe of this world. The way Perilous had spoken the threat made it sound like I wouldn't be the one to suffer. Who was he targeting now?

"Why are you warning me? Helping the Living has nothing to do with you." I paused, trying to think things over rationally. "Of course, it's not your warning. It's someone else's. Who sent you?"

He laughed slowly, and I found myself stepping backwards involuntarily. Goldor fluttered down to the back of my neck and wrapped himself slowly around in a form of mental support.

"Very sharp Sirius, very sharp indeed. Asking the right questions time and time again. However," he took a sudden, large, gaping step towards me, "do you think I'm stupid," he snarled. "Do you honestly think I'd just tell you who sent me, and risk everything I've set up? Things don't work like they do in the movies here, kid."

"Fine then. You can answer this one instead, why are you warning me?" I needed answers to these questions. Even if Perilous wouldn't tell me who had sent him, I could figure it out on my own. I just needed more information.

"Because a certain someone thinks you're preventing him from beating the game. He's a fool though. The way he tries to beat the game will only lead to the death of us all. Your way is far more amusing, Sirius. Your way actually has a chance of succeeding."

"And why do you care? Why do you care who can beat the game, and who's way is the best. If you truly cared about beating the game, why are you killing players?" None of this made any sense at all. Perilous seemed to have his own personal emotions and ideals mixed up in this threat. It wasn't just the unknown player X sending this threat. Perilous was sending a threat too.

Perilous began to laugh his slow, unnatural laugh. Shivers ran up my spine and I gripped the hilt of my broadsword until it creaked in misery. My ears stung as if I had listened to nails sliding and screeching down a blackboard. Perilous just stared in my direction, all facial features hidden from view behind his hood, except his jaw, and laughed. I paled when I realized the answers to my questions.

"You don't want to beat this game. You don't want to leave this world. You want to stay, here, forever," I said, my voice shaking slightly. Where was the usual calm me? I needed him now, more than ever, to face this raving lunatic.

His laughing grew harder and louder. His body wracked with the heaves of cold, bleak laughter, and he began to speak before he had finished his bout.

"Oh you're so sharp Sirius, so very sharp. If only you were on my side," his laughter died out to a chuckle. "But you would never switch sides. You are your own man, aren't you? Not led by anyone, a stray star in the sky. Everyone wants to be like you, to be with you, but no one can seem to find the courage to join your suicidal crusade. Thus you live alone, miserable, friendless, and worst of all, without purpose."

"Tell me Sirius, why do you help those weaker than you? Do you feel pity for them? Disgusting. Perhaps you wish to be worshiped? Now there's a worthy goal, but I can tell by your face that that's impossible. I don't understand you Sirius, no one does, and that makes you the enigma in this world."

"You're the perfect pair to me. The counterpart. I shall draw in all the darkness, and blanket the whole world, but I know at the end, you'll be left standing. You, in your damn glory, and morals, and justifications, and people will just fucking love you for it."

Perilous took a deep breath, and I realized that he had lost control of his emotions then. He was a tightly wound individual, and given the slightest opportunity he would lash out.

"And I must stop that. I cannot let you become the brightest star in the sky. So this is a warning, from both the other and me. Do not help the Living, or you will find your friends in an inhospitable situation."

"Don't you dare threaten my friends!" I hissed out, anger masking my fear, and feigning for bravery.

"There it is again, the famous morals of Sirius, the one who values his non-existent friends over his life. I'm going to enjoy watching you cry as they leave you in fear during my ascension through this world."

He took another large, gaping step towards me. We were less then two meters apart, but it felt like centimetres. Everything was going wrong. I was frozen in fear. I had to run. Now.

But before my legs could react Perilous was suddenly gliding past me, silently, like a ghost, or a demon from the underworld.

"I'd take careful care of Crystal. She seems like quite the prize," Perilous whispered into my ear as he slid by. I swung my sword horizontally around my body as I jumped away from the voice, but the cloaked figure was already galloping away into the distance.

I pressed my sword into the ground for support, trying to keep myself upright. I refused to be defeated like this. I refused to be pushed around. I was not a puppet to be controlled by sadistic murderers and power hungry dictators. Perilous was already gone, and there was nothing I could do today about his presence. If I was honest with myself, there was nothing I wanted to do with that psychotic murderer.

On the other hand, Perilous had been a mite too talkative in his enthusiastic monologue. I knew the identity of mysterious player X, the one who Perilous's orders had arrived from.

Ricochet had summoned me for a visit? Well, he was going to get a visit, but he wasn't going to enjoy any part of it.

* * *

I slammed the large, oak, double doors open as I stormed my way furiously within the giant stone mansion that Perilous and the Builders currently took up residence. Goldor launched himself off my shoulder and began squawking loudly in profound rage as he swirled angrily around the room, swiping at players' exposed bare heads with his claws quickly before fluttering out of their reach.

All 100 or so players in the room looked at me with a mixture of one expecting a visitor, but not expecting a fuming master and dragon. They had been gathered by Ricochet for my meeting, and frankly, it seemed that none of them had believed I would actually arrive. The fact that I was now here to prove them wrong was by no means reassuring for them though. I would make certain of that.

"I demand order in this room Sirius, so control your damn lizard or I'll do it myself," Ricochet demanded loudly and powerfully from the makeshift throne in the room. The dining tables had been pushed to the end of the room and stacked on top of each other to make a raised platform, and a comfortable looking lounge chair was placed atop. Ricochet sat above all other occupants in the room, and even being 6'4 hardly made a difference this time.

I was not cowed by the height however. I had fought monsters more ferocious than a pile of tables and I would not falter now.

"You can demand what you want from this room Ricochet, but you can demand nothing from me. I am not your puppet," I shouted loudly, fury barely contained in my voice. Goldor shrieked his agreement and continued to dive bomb the unfortunate but deserving crowd.

"I summoned you here Sirius, and you will obey my rules while you stand here," Ricochet shouted back, his usual calm composure shattered.

"Oh, you did try to summon me, didn't you? But guess what, I refused. I'm not your dog you can call on a whim. I'm not here because you summoned me. I'm here because I decided I needed to have a little, violent, conversation with you."

"Hey, no one talks to the leader like that," one of Ricochet's impromptu bodyguards demanded loudly while stepping forward to manhandle me. My broadsword was at his throat before the unfortunate victim had even placed a hand on his own long sword.

"You shut your mouth or you'll find your head separated from your body," I snarled at the player, who retreated in fear immediately. Brave bodyguards Ricochet had with him, I thought sarcastically. Ricochet seemed to realize the fragility of his network, and decided to finally humour me.

"What is it you want, Sirius," he said, his voice no longer raised, but there were cracks in his calm persona that had yet to recover.

"I want to know why the bloody hell a sadistic, mentally insane orange player had orders to warn me to stop doing the very thing that you ordered me not to do," I shouted at him, refusing to play along with Ricochet's attempt to have a civilized conversation.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Sirius," Ricochet replied coldly, but his eyes held unease, and I knew that my assumption was correct.

"Why are you so worried Ricochet? Surprised that your murderous friend Perilous decided to sell you out?" I was convinced to get him to admit to this connection of his.

"You have no grounds to base this on Sirius, and I will not take this slanderous speech quietly. You will not group me with murders ever again, do you understand." Ricochet's voice was harsh and unforgiving. The conversation wasn't going well for him, and he wanted it to end fast.

"Fine. I just hope you understand who you're making deals with. Perilous isn't like the rest of us, and on his list of people to kill, I'd say your at the top Ricochet." I finally tore my glare off of Ricochet, and now that he was spared the brunt of my anger I saw his body relax visibly into the plush chair. My eyes flickered angrily around the room, staring at all the gathered players. They had all heard the discussion that had taken place. They would be my witness. It wasn't perfect, but they were acceptable.

"Come, Goldor," I said, both loudly and clearly, and began to walk slowly out of the silent room. Goldor swished down lightly beside me, gave one last, loud, furious squawk directed at the gaping entourage, and then tucked himself into the collar of my cloak.

My fingertips found the edges of the wooden, oak double doors, and with a resounding crash, I slammed them shut behind me.

What was I to do now?

* * *

"I like to drink with Sirius. Sirius is his name. Ten. Nine. Eight-" The counting got audibly slower and slower and slower as the party completed their countdown.

"ThreeTwoOne," They finished in a big rush, and I slammed the giant, wooden tanker down onto the bar in front of me. A giant cluster of bubbles made it's way up my throat and I belched loudly, and rather appropriately considering the situation.

"Quickly, get another drink for the man who went up against the Serious," Burger shouted to Whisker.

"Quickly, get him another drink, he's still not out yet," Jaxx shouted to Whisker, and they laughed uproariously as Whisker ran up to the NPC barkeeper and purchased another litre of the foul, bitter tasting drink that was an attempt to replicate good old-fashioned beer.

Iris looked quite nervous over the whole proceedings, but Prince just rolled his eyes at the group.

"It's not alcoholic you know! No matter how much you force him to drink nothings going to happen!" Prince had to shout loudly to make himself heard over the banter of his friends.

"You won't know until you try," Thrash said loudly, and gave Prince a playful shove as he pushed his way towards the bar.

"What are you doing with that drink, Thrash?" Prince asked sternly, not pleased at the exorbitant amount of money that these bitter tasting drinks costed.

Thrash replied with a feral grin. "Racing," he said simply, and pushed his way towards me, and slammed his drink down on the table.

"Alright buddy, winner pays. Deal?" Thrash said to me, and the surrounding guys burst into cheer, encouraging the duel to occur.

"Fine by me, just make sure your party doesn't hang you by your feet to dry when you drain all their funds," I replied back playfully.

Jaxx launched himself over the bar table to where the drinks were kept and turned to face us. He placed a palm over the lid of each drink.

"On the count of three. Three, two-"

"Wait, wait," I said, interrupting quickly. "Is it 3-2-1-go, or just 3-2-1?"

"3-2-1-go," Thrash said. Jaxx looked at me pointedly, and I nodded in agreement.

"Alright, 3-2-1-go it is then," Jaxx said, imitating a sports commentator. He cleared his throat, and made a grand gesture of covering the lids of the drinks with his hands a second time.

"Three, two, one,"

"GO!" Shouted the guys in the room, including Prince, who had gotten caught up in the masculine fun.

I raised the foaming wooden tankard to my mouth and began pouring the contents down my mouth. The bitter liquid swished around my tongue and cheeks before running down my throat. I tried not to cough as the bubbles caused airlocks to block the torrent of a river flooding down. A non-coherent thought in the back of my mind was astounded at how detailed the SAO engine could be at times.

Chanting around me urged me on, and I forced more of the liquid into my already over full stomach. I heard a loud wood on wood slam, and grimaced in disappointment at the noise. My doubts were confirmed as the audience burst into cheer. I finished the last gulp of my drink and brought my own wooden tankard down onto the wooden bar top. Thrash was grinning at me evilly.

"You're two years younger then me for god's sake, how the hell did I lose?" I demanded at Thrash loudly, which resulted in a loud eruption of laughter from the surrounding party.

"Oh, we've been to our fair share of parties, old man," Thrash said, mirth playing in his eyes. "Now, I believe you have to pay for both drinks."

"A deal's a deal," I said, shaking my head in mock disappointment, "but I still think there was something funny going on there." Thrash simply laughed.

I sat back heavily in my seat, and looked at the guys of the group patting Thrash on the back and congratulating him. Even Iris got up and gave him a big hug, but quickly backed off when she discovered the remaining aroma of non-alcoholic beer permeating from him. I realized at that point that these players hadn't simply met in the world of SAO, but that they had known each other in the other world too.

"So, do you guys want to tell me how you all met?" I asked the party. I hoped that the question wasn't too personal, and I was relieved when they didn't break a step and began to answer me.

"Well, it all began long, long ago," Burger began, as he sat down on the bar seat beside me, and draped a thick arm across my shoulder.

"Yes, a long time ago when Jaxx here had a crush on some beautiful damsel," Thrash said, sitting on my opposite side and wrapping his around my opposite shoulder, paralleling Burger.

"A beautiful damsel who went by the name of Iris," Whisker cut in, and Iris lowered her head in embarrassment as Jaxx tackled Whisker to the ground.

"Hey, that was a years ago! Why do you gotta keep bringing that up?" Jaxx demanded loudly, but he wasn't angry, not at all. Just embarrassed.

"Well, Sirius here said start at the beginning, and that's about as beginningish as I can get," Thrash said.

"But Jaxx here is right, that was years ago," Burger admitted.

"But don't believe a word he tells you," Thrash whispered into my ear so that Iris couldn't hear.

"Yeah, he still has a crush on her," Burger whispered, following Thrash's example.

"And always will," Whisker managed to say from beneath Jaxx before he was pounded in the head again.

"But as you can imagine, that was all in the real world. The other world," The party fell silent, and Prince stepped forward to continue the tale.

"The rest is my fault," he started, but every player in the room burst into outrage at his statement. Prince held up his hands in self-defence and defeat. Eventually the shouting finally calmed down.

"They refuse to allow be to take the blame, but they still can't refute that it was my idea to pre order six versions of SAO and play them together," Prince finished, and as he looked at us, I realized for the first time that the boy that had originally seemed the most normal, with the no outstanding qualities, was perhaps the least normal of them all. His plain, every day brown eyes held regret, and a strong feeling of self-blame.

"And we _all_ agreed to buy the game and try it out," Iris added, emphasizing the 'all' of her sentence, and the other guys nodded in agreement.

"And sure, it was a terrible shock to discover we'd been trapped here, but we were trapped here together, so that made it bearable," Iris said, and as I looked at the cheerful party, I was reminded so painfully of what I could have had. If I had never challenged Daniel, or Cig Bock as he was known, to that duel I could have been surrounded by friends the whole way throughout this world. We would've fought with each other, and protected one another. We would've been a team. An unbreakable party, so very much like the one in front of me.

But that was just a 'what if' scenario, a ghost of my hopes, and this party in front of me was nothing more than a bittersweet reminder of my old life in my old world.

The party of six had noticed that I had fallen quite, and they were looking at me carefully.

"Would you want to leave?" I asked them, and they looked at me confused, so I clarified. "If you had the choice at this moment to leave this world and return to the other one, permanently, never to come back to SAO, would you take it?"

They all looked at each other, and I was surprised when slowly, one by one, they all shook their head in denunciation. The only player other than me to look surprised was Prince. This party of friends had grown to love this world, and at this moment in time, preferred the world of SAO to the world of Earth. When had that happened, and how had that happened. Just what was happening to us players on this world?

"Y-you all don't hate this world?" Prince asked quietly, and his friends smiled at him.

"As long as we're together, I don't care where we are," Jaxx said, the usually talkative one short on words this time.

"This world has brought us closer together than ever before," Whisker said, in his nervous style of speech.

"One day we will beat this game, and leave this world though," Thrash said solidly and proudly, pumping his chest out.

"And when we do, we will celebrate like we've never done before," Burger said, a constant smile on his face.

"No one hates this world Prince, and more importantly, no one hates you for what's happened to us," Iris concluded, her long, sleek hair cascading down Prince's body as she hugged him tightly.

Tears welled up in Prince's eyes, and they silently escaped and poured down his cheeks. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to force the tears away, but they wouldn't stop, so instead he looked fondly at his party of friends.

"Thank you Jaxx. Thank you Whisker. Thank you Thrash. Thank you Burger. Thank you Iris," Prince said softly, and each player lowered their head slightly at the praise, and when their heads came back up, a full smile was on their faces.

They had finally got their friend back.

* * *

**Aww, they're so happy together. Don't you think so? I think so. I look forward to the next chapter as much as you guys hopefully do, so keep these guys in mind.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	36. Chasing Death

I set the colourful, frivolous looking bouquet of flowers upon the black stone and took a solemn step backwards. A small serene smile rose to my face at the sight of a second bouquet of flowers already there. I wondered how Red was surviving, and how she was keeping up with Crystal's antics. They had been gone for thirteen days now. Today would be Red's last, full day as an orange player. After she slept through tonight, she would wake up free tomorrow. Although part of me felt foolish for holding what was probably a one-sided emotion, I couldn't wait to see Red again.

I supposed it would be nice to see Crystal too.

With a dull shake of my head, I said some parting words to the large memorial stone, a few more private words for Daniel's ears only, and then left to begin my day.

My feet resounded loudly upon the solid cobble ground, and so I was surprised when I heard a faint, unsettling echo to my footsteps that weren't mine. With Perilous's threat still heavily induced in my mind, I was far more nervous and my movements more jumpy that normal. Without thinking of the consequences I whipped myself, my Legion Broadsword already in my hands, twirling it's way toward the unidentified footsteps.

I was shocked to discover a middle aged man who looked to be in his forties standing behind me. I was even more shocked when he blocked my powerful swing with the butt of his half drawn weapon.

"My my, quite jumpy in the wee hours of the morning, aren't we, little one?" The old man said, clearly ignoring the fact that compared to me he was the one who was really quite little. He wore a vibrant red cape that ran stoically down his shoulders to his ankles, which contrasted powerfully with his gold tinted, steel armour. It wasn't the heaviest stuff that you buy in the market, but he wasn't wearing any of those wimpy looking chainmail shirts. It was solid steel he had upon him. He wore a gold clasp around his neck that screamed nobility, but seemed to suit his wizened face.

White, slightly graying facial hair covered his chin and cheeks, and the soft wrinkles at the edge of his eyes truly showed his age. I upped my original estimate. He was at least fifty. He had gray, thinning hair that he appeared to be keeping long and made its way down to his ears and the nape of his neck. On any other person the look may have made them look grandfatherly and gentle, but on this particular face, with the hooked nose, and sharp, unrelenting blue eyes, the man portrayed an incredibly strict persona.

Perhaps he used to be in the military. Maybe he was born into the upper echelons of society and was used to a strict life style of ordering others. When I looked at him, donned in steel armour and a long sword at his side, he seemed like a man of regality. If I were to give him a title, I would proclaim his as King, and with that hard, unrelenting gaze, he would be able to rule a country.

But there were no countries to rule, only floors upon floors of hostile lands and vicious monsters. Kings had no part in the world of SAO, or so I thought.

The man gave a loud cough, and I realized I had been caught staring. I recovered myself, and held out a firm hand. "A pleasure to meet you, the name's Sirius," I said, and noticed with some satisfaction that the elder man did not even wince when he recognized my name. My title held its own kind of weight in this world, and to find player's who were not influenced by such a petty thing was unusual..

He grasped my hand in his own, and his fingers curled into a tight, dominating handshake. I was sure that if the SAO strength systems weren't defining our power, his handshake would have been bone crushing.

"A kid who knows his manners, not every day you see one of them," the man said, sounding surprised before letting go of the handshake. "The name's Arthur, or at least that's my avatar name."

"Well, it's been nice to meet you, but I must get going-"

"Wait right there, lad," he interrupted boldly, "I didn't wake up this early in the wee morning and walk this distance just to watch you sod off after meeting you."

"You mean you've been looking for me. But a moment ago you didn't even know who I was?"

"No, I knew exactly who you were laddie. Everyone who's got a decent head on their shoulders remembers exactly what you look like. I was just surprised you admitted to being the player named Sirius so simply. Things like that won't help your little poster campaign."

I blinked slowly, trying to change my impression of this old man. He was definitely something more than I'd first imagined.

"Alright then, you seem to know about me, so I'm going to drop the act. What do you want from me, Old Man?" I said, all trace of pleasantry gone from my voice. He gave a soft chuckle at my abrupt change in tone.

"Now that's the Sirius I was looking for, the kind of lad who doesn't take shit from anyone. Excellent, you might just do," Arthur said cryptically.

"Listen, I don't know what you're talking about," I said, irritation colouring my voice.

"But I do, and that's the best situation to be in," Arthur said, and I found the graying man irritating to no ends, perhaps more so than Perilous. He continued to talk to me however, ignoring my irritation.

"But you're just like me. You like answers, not questions. I can't tell you everything yet, but when you're ready to fight back, send me a message, and I'll give you the tools to do so," Arthur said, while sending a friend request to me.

I hesitated before accepting this mysterious request from this mysterious man. "Who am I supposed to be fighting back against? And I won't let you use me as your puppet."

"Oh, and don't I know it. You are your own man, or something like that, correct? Don't worry, I won't force you into anything you don't want to do. I think you'll find our interests will be rather… parallel in the near future." The old man seemed to know far too much about me for my liking, and it was causing me to edge closer to the decline button on my screen.

"There are no promises attached to that request by the way. Nothing you have to do or prove to me. Just, when you're ready to fight back, you'll need a means to contact me."

My finger hovered above the decline button, not moving. "No promises, no strings attached?" I asked.

He gave a short chuckle. "You're no string puppet, laddie," he said, and that cryptic response was enough for me to press down on the holographic accept option. I gave a short groan.

"I hope I know what I'm doing," I muttered to myself.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll know exactly what you'll be doing in no time at all," Arthur said cheerfully. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have terribly important business to attend to," and with a polite tip of his head, the graying man disappeared down a side alley.

* * *

"He sounds like a bloody wanker, that he does," Thrash said bluntly, as he slammed his heavy war hammer into a scampering Fierce Leopard. The African plains on the eighth floor differed from that of the seventh floor by the amount of seemingly normal animals that were in fact genetically enhanced improvements of the Earth like creatures. There were no dragons or Boboa Pixies, just enraged safari animals. The leopards were ferocious and battle-versed, relying on more than just primal instincts during a fight.

Despite this, a single solid connecting slash from by broadsword was enough to defeat the wild animal. The other members of the party I was with had far more trouble however, but they were beginning to work beautifully as a team, and any serious problems they might once have had were quickly being solved. Since last night and the group revelation, Prince had become far more determined in his efforts, and his friends were nothing less then relieved to have their old friend back.

"I know he sounds like a wanker, but he seemed to know some important stuff. I couldn't just turn him down," I argued.

"Well, as long as you don't suddenly begin working for him or something. That would be you downfall," Burger said, to which I snorted. Like that was going to bloody happen any time soon. Someone would have to die first.

Burger and Thrash teamed up together to dispose of their Leopard, and after a few tense minutes the battle was finally decided. Thrash gave a small cheer and after announcing he had levelled up the party went crazy in celebration. I sighed, the joys of being young were lost on me. That thought was rather ironic, considering I was still just eighteen.

They were cheering loudly when I spotted the first warning of trouble. A tight knit group of players seemed to be watching us from afar. It usually wouldn't have alarmed me, but I could tell that they sported high-levelled equipment. Those players were Serious.

I was just over thinking it, I told myself. There's no way Ricochet would send a hunting party after me just for training with the Living. Some Serious were forced to train with the Living anyway, like when the best training spots were already taken, so they were forced to share. I pushed the warning thought out of my mind and continued my training.

The next warning came through the eyes of Goldor, who fluttered down to my shoulder while I was in mid fight with a leopard and began squawking quietly into my ear. No, something was definitely not right. Goldor was warning me of players hiding nearby. Was it the same players, or simply just a coincidence?

I looked at the party of six who were levelling up and fighting so joyfully. Thrash and Burger were together, Prince and Whisker in another party, and Jaxx and his long time crush Iris in the last party. They were laughing and fighting at the same time, and I couldn't bring myself to break up their session. Besides, whatever was coming, I could deal with it. In this world I was more or less unstoppable.

They say somewhere that three is the magic number. I never really believed in that, but I did believe that three is an important psychological number for humans. It's a recurring number in countless situations. A countdown for a race, the amount of sizes (small, medium, large), the amount of wishes a genie grants. Three is indeed a strange number, and although it may not be magical, it is definitely a catalyst for a multitude of events.

It is for that reason that by the time I discovered the third warning of danger events were already spiralling uncontrollably into motion. I saw a flash of steel behind a tall African acacia tree on the clearing opposite me, close to where Prince and Whisker fought. With a quick glance to the right I discovered a bright red being snaking forwards through the wild grass, and I realized the implications. We were being surrounded.

"Party, together! Jaxx, Prince, Burger, come in. Now!" I shouted as I ran to the middle of the three groups. They looked confused, but had been with me long enough not to disobey a direct order, and they scrambled towards me, leaving half defeated monsters in their midst.

"What's wrong?" Burger asked, worry layering his voice. He knew me well by now, and he recognized the tone of panic in my words.

"Weapons out, backs to each other, make a defensive circle," I ordered quietly, my eyes focused on a snaking black figure in the wild grass.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" Thrash asked, but it was Prince that answered.

"Enemies," he said, and he hissed as he began to process what was going on. "Why are they here Sirius?" He asked.

"I don't know, but they're here for me, not for you. You guys need to escape at the first possible moment." I saw Jaxx open his mouth to complain, but I interrupted him. "That's an order." The group was quiet as the severity of the situation revealed itself to them.

Finally, I could stand waiting no longer, so I called out loudly. "Come out sneaks, we know you're there," I shouted loudly, and to my surprise, a figure stood up in front of me. From the surrounding gasps around me, I deduced that a few other figures had also revealed themselves.

"You're Serious?" It was an honest question, as the players face was not familiar to me.

"Of course. Of course you recognize me," the player said proudly, but when he discovered the blank look on my face he became angry. "I was there yesterday when Ricochet warned you. We all were, and now we've come to carry out the threat."

"You mean to say Ricochet ordered you to punish me because I'm helping the Living?" I asked. This kind of action was really not Ricochet's kind of thinking. I wondered just how corrupt he had become.

The Serious in front of me laughed, his steel, two handed war axe shaking slightly in his hand. "Not exactly. He didn't order us, but we're taking the initiative. It was only a matter of time until things would grow out of control with you. Share the resources, what kind of stupid thinking is that. We need the resources. We need to become the heroes."

"What kind of thinking is that! It's like a dictator's line of thinking. Has power blinded you that much," I said, sorrow in my voice as I recognized what authority and power had done to this once possibly innocent person.

"I'm not blind," he shouted loudly, before reigning control over himself. "Besides, Ricochet's a fool too, in his own way. No this isn't just to threaten you, this is so we can join the ranks of Perilous. Once he hears that we helped him by carrying out his threat to you, which we all know about because we heard you crying about it to Ricochet in the great hall yesterday, Perilous will welcome us with open arms."

I was a fool. I had never thought that the Serious could become this corrupt. Perhaps Ricochet wasn't this far gone, but these players definitely were. I had to get this party of teenagers beside me to safety. They were caught up in the wrong kind of business here.

"Fine, I'll do what ever you want, but let these players go. They have no role in this argument," I said, praying that this simple plea would work.

"No role? No role!" the Serious player began laughing hysterically. "They're the main role of this whole thing. Their sacrifice will become your suffering Sirius!"

And with that he leapt at me, his giant war axe swinging down upon me in his two hands. I dodged nimbly to the side, and spun 180 degrees to narrowly avoid the follow up strike. Now that the positions had been reversed, and I was facing the opposite direction, I could see the rest of my party and the horror that was unfolding.

There were three other Serious with the war axe wielding leader, and they were tearing into my friends. I launched a powerful Vertical Crush at the leader Serious in front of me, momentarily stunning him but drawing limited damage, and rushed over to aid my friends. I activated Sword Play and parried another of the Serious back a meter, drawing health from this player. I was about to continue my assault when I heard a scream of help from behind, a scream that had come from Whisker.

I turned and flew myself at the attacker, but was forced to stop short as a war axe landed in my path. I slashed out at the weapon and the powerful strike disarmed the player, but his goal had been served. I had been sufficiently distracted for several seconds and I was now forced to watch as a Serious with a nodachi severed Thrash's head from his body as he stood protectively in front of Whisker.

I screamed in rage and rushed the man with a Ghost Strike before he could finish off Whisker. The two-chain sword skill slammed him backwards several meters onto his ass, and cut off more than half his health. But I was distracted again, and as I turned around to face the next opponent I saw the fourth Serious raise his claymore and sever Burger from should to toe. I felt sick as I watched one of my best friends body shatter into polygons, and then I felt even sicker as I imagined his brain being fried by microwaves in the other world.

It was all too much and I lost control of my emotions. I made a sudden move at the fourth Serious who was recovering from his sword skill and dropped the most powerful Vertical Crush I could land on him. It was a clean hit, and his health dropped to red, but he remained alive. I was about to fix that mistake until I was forced to drop and roll out of the way of a war axe. The leader had retrieved his weapon and was once again distracting me.

I screamed at Jaxx to warn him of the incoming nodachi, but I wasn't there in time to help him. The leader had been joined by one of his comrades, and the two were successfully holding me at bay as I watched the scene unfurl. Suddenly Whisker, in an attempt to protect Jaxx, launched himself at the nodachi wielder, who was in critical health due to my sword skill, and knocked the Serious over to the ground. Whisker then repeated to stab the man in the face with his short sword over and over until the Serious shattered from existence. Before I could celebrate our victory however a claymore was pierced into Whisker's heart from behind, pinning him to the ground. The last sound he made was a cry of agony before his body could be seen no more.

I activated Horizontal Bolt, but both distracting players defended the attack perfectly. They were Serious after all, and they had far more battle experience than any monster I had fought in the field, but god was it irritating. I felt powerless against them. I watched as Jaxx and Prince parried off against the injured claymore wielder and appeared to hold their ground. Finally, Jaxx managed to break through the Serious's defence and rip his insides to shreds. The Serious died with an honest look of surprise on his face. He had not expected to be killed by a Living.

But the victory was short lived, as the leader activated a rather devastating war axe sword skill that force me to flip backwards and lose several precious meters from my remaining friends. The other Serious, who had been distracting me, dashed over to the now unprotected Iris who screamed in absolute horror as she watched her inevitable death flash before her eyes.

Suddenly, Jaxx, the boy who'd had a crush on Iris since the day he'd met her, and to this very day still held the same crush, pushed his beloved's motionless body out of the way of the incoming blade. Iris watched in horror as the Serious's long sword impaled Whisker through the chest, directly through his heart. Perhaps Whisker managed to whisper a word or two to Iris before he disappeared in a sorrowful twinkle of lights, but it had not been enough time. Whisker would never be able to express to Iris what he'd felt all those years. Whisker was dead, in this world, and the other world.

Iris went mad. Her eyes, usually calm and collected, now burnt with lighting and crackled in pain. She gripped her spear and began a connected a chain of sword skills mixed with a flurry of her own, rapid stabs. The Serious in combat had already had his health batted away by me earlier in one, clean sword skill, so it was only a matter of time until he fell beneath the furious onslaught and his body was demolished.

While that was occurring, Prince had assaulted the leader, the Serious who was at least five whole levels higher then him, and fought him in a one on one duel. There were no unfair health advantages. The war axe wielder had lost only a minute fraction of health from my sole sword skill. In any other situation, Prince should have been doomed to lose.

But he wasn't losing. His eyes were flashing fire, and his normally mundane hair was whipping behind him in a mane of fury. His response times and reflexes were off the charts. In one clear slash, he actually feinted at three different instants, causing the Serious's battle composure to collapse in confusion from the overpowering technique.

Prince's sword hand was a blur, and I could tell that he was forcing the limits of SAO. He was reaching the point where the system couldn't transfer the messages from his brain and transcribe them to the game in time. He was moving too fast, thinking too fast, acting too fast. Everything was a blur, constructed from computer generated lag. Prince was a monster.

The Serious didn't stand a chance, despite the overwhelming level difference. Prince's sword cut constantly and deeply between the gaps in his opponents armour, and the Serious' health bar was dripping into non-existence.

With one final yell that contained all Prince's emotions, revenge, pain, regret, anger, he brought his sword down directly into the heart of the Serious, who looked at the furious boy in front of him, his only expression that of fear, before disappearing from this world forever.

It was over. The gruesome battle that took the lives of eight players, four of them the lives of my friends, was over as quickly as it began. There was nothing around us to pay homage to the massacre other than the eight, glowing, tombstone-significant lights. There were no blood sprays. No dead bodies slumped over each other in attempts to protect one another. In a few minutes a player could walk by this exact location and not even be able to determine if a battle had taken place or not.

The feeling that remained behind was one of emptiness. There was no victory in our battle. No happy cheers and raucous laughing. No poking fun at Jaxx's cute, childish crush on a high school girl. It was gone. All gone. Forever.

Prince dropped his weapon to the ground and screamed at the heavens. Tears ran down his face, and he brought his hands to his opposite arms and tried to tear the flesh off his skin. The system wouldn't allow it but he tried anyway. He screamed in agony at losing his friends. He'd only just learnt the night before that they had never been angry at him for his actions that caused them to be trapped in SAO. He had finally had his friends back, and now the game he had trapped them in had once again taken them away from him, this time permanently.

Iris collapsed to the ground, her knee's colliding with the grass with a loud, painful thump, and she began to crawl her way to Prince's shaking body. She wrapped her arms around Prince's thin frame and held him. She didn't cry, but her face held something worse than tears. Her face showed defeat. She may not cry now, but tonight, and for many nights later, she would cry herself to sleep each night, thinking of what she had lost. Her face was blank, a look of nothing, a look of complete and utter defeat.

Then there was me. I didn't have any tears to spare for the friends I had lost. The tears would come later, when I truly needed them. For now though, I had a purpose, a violent purpose. I would avenge my friends in the only way I knew how.

With that thought in my mind I methodically got to work looting the bodies of the fallen. Yes, I even looted the bodies of my friends. It felt disgusting, it felt horribly wrong, but it had to be done. I could almost hear Burger in my mind telling me that the equipment here wasn't going to help us if we let it disappear.

I swallowed painfully, the lump in my throat not receding. I wouldn't cry. I couldn't cry yet. Goldor fell onto my shoulder miserably and I felt his body wrack softly in sorrow. If dragons could cry, then this little dragon was pouring its heart out.

After I had looted the last glowing tomb marker I walked quietly over to Prince, who was still shaking, his body flayed on the ground. He looked up at me, his eyes searching mine, desperately looking for an answer, a way to fix everything, but there wasn't one. There wasn't a gimmick, a trick, or an item that would save everyone and return everything back to normal.

I held out a hand, the only comfort I could offer, and Prince reluctantly placed his flimsy wrist within it. With a solid pull I lifted Prince off the ground, Iris rising up with him, still clinging to him for support. No, there was no such thing as going back to normal anymore. Jaxx, Burger, Thrash and Whisker were dead.

We began the long, slow march back to the safe zone of the nearest city. Our steps were heavy, as if they were weighed down with the burdens of the dead. Our mouths were quiet, and lips were silent, as words seemed pitifully empty.

Were we marching away from death, or towards it? Maybe death simply surrounded us, and no matter which way we fled, it would eventually find us.

* * *

I lay the colourful, frivolous looking bouquet of flowers upon the black stone and solemnly stepped backwards. No smile rose to my face this time. No happy memories flooded to the surface of my mind. Only moving pictures of my friends losing their lives as I helplessly stood and watched ran through my mind.

I turned around and discovered a middle-aged man with graying hair watching me sadly. He walked up the black stone and placed a single, white lily to add to the measly collection of flowers already there.

"I am sorry for your loss," Arthur said quietly, and I could here the sincerity in his voice. I knew that I could trust him, and I knew that if it allowed me revenge, then I would trust him with my life, and I would follow him.

"I'm ready to fight back against it," I said to him softly, and he looked at me seriously through his wrinkled eyes.

"Are you sure, lad?" he asked, but he knew the answer. He was the one who had set me up for the answer.

"I'm ready to fight against Ricochet."

* * *

***Insert tears here (hopefully)* a rather painful chapter to write, hopefully, in terms of writing skills, the chapter was also painful to read.**

**This should begin to kickstart some more interesting events. So, remain tagging along. Unless of course you only just got tagged, and in that case, hope you're enjoying.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	37. GrassWhistle

I had once though that Ricochet was destined to be the leader of SAO. He had meticulously and deviously garnered a select group of players, determined to leave this world, thus determined to be the strongest, and he had led this group to victory time and time again. Ricochet kept his position through honesty and trust in his companions, and they in turn put their trust in him.

But Ricochet wasn't trying to become a political leader, he was trying to become a military leader, and he led through violence. He had no notion of how to structure the perfect faction.

Arthur, on the other hand, had laid a giant net beneath the players of SAO, and was just now beginning to trap and claim his haul. Gathered in this particular room was thirty-eight players, none of whom were acquainted with one another. Each player in the room symbolized the leader of a party. Arthur would only allow one player per party to join in the boss fight, and thus that one player became his first level of subordinates. They became his Knights.

The Knights were typically the highest levelled player out of each party, and therefore were classified as the leader of each party. Because Arthur had taken the leader of thirty-eight parties under his wing, Arthur had technically taken control of thirty-eight parties. There were six people to a party, and that meant that Arthur now controlled an army of over 200 players.

Arthur knew how to keep his faction happy too. The players who were not Knights now became the second level of subordinates, the Soldiers. Arthur had reign over the Knights, and split the income from fights between those thirty-eight players, who in turn split their income between their party members, the Soldiers. Everyone benefitted from the hierarchy, and everyone was pleased, especially Arthur.

Ricochet may have garnered the most powerful forty players in the game, but that was where his influence ended. Arthur's influence currently extended over 200 players, and was steadily growing. As soon as a formal guild could be formed, I was certain that Arthur's faction was going to exponentially skyrocket. Ricochet may not know it yet, but he was way out of his league in this fight for power.

Prince sat beside me, brooding quietly while his eyes intricately examined the surrounding players. Iris sat beside him, currently lost in a daze of thoughts, probably traumatic thoughts about the massacre that occurred yesterday. I pushed the memories out of my mind before they threatened to overwhelm me.

"What do you think, Prince?" I asked, knowing full well that Prince's eye for detail far surpassed mine.

"They're all weak," was his response, and I raised an eyebrow as I waited for him to continue.

"They average about level thirteen, which is about four levels lower then the Serious. The Serious usually have difficulty fighting a floor boss, these players are about to get decimated," Prince said. I thought he was done, but he continued to analyse the situation, clearly surpassing my abilities.

"Worse, the room is too quiet. There's not enough communication going on. The player's don't trust each other yet, in fact, they probably don't even know each other at all. In a boss fight where you have to trust the player behind you without sparing a look, mistrust will kill them.'

Prince looked at me, seeming to look bored, but there was a smouldering fire within his brown eyes, waiting to be released. "Although I understand that Iris and I are only level twelve, I think that us two, and you, will be doing the brunt of the work. We're possibly the only group here that knows what it means to work as a team."

"Impressive, you got far more then me," I said, praising Prince. The praise didn't appear to affect him at all, and he turned back to his quiet brooding and analysing. I sighed heavily. This kid, just like Iris, was also heavily traumatized by the massacre, but he was hiding it behind a cool demeanour. I did not want to be nearby when he finally exploded.

"What do you think Iris?" I asked the Asian girl, who remained in a daze.

"Iris!" I said louder, causing her to snap out of her thoughts. She looked around slightly shocked, before realizing that it was only me calling her.

"What do you think of this Iris? Still want to fight?" I asked.

"Are you going to fight?" She asked, to which I nodded immediately. "Then I'm fighting too. I'm not losing anyone else I know." Again, I sighed heavily. I felt like I was babysitting two emotionally disturbed teenagers. Actually, that was exactly what I was doing. Despite being only two years older, I was definitely the closest thing they had to an adult figure to depend on in these hard times.

"Alright, I guess we're good to go then," I said quietly to myself. "Hey, Arthur, let's get started!" I shouted loudly across the room. The wizened old man looked at me, slightly irritated that I was ordering him around, but he let it pass and began speaking. I zoned him out. He was just talking about the necessity of formations and parties, stuff that I already knew clearly.

My party would involve Arthur, Prince, Iris, Martin and Arthur's second in command, a formidable looking dark skinned player with a war hammer slung over his back. I was pleased that Martin would be in my party, as other then me, and possibly Arthur, he was the second strongest player in this midst. More so, he was probably the most powerful defensive player in the game at this point, and he would be essential in the upcoming battle. Martin was the selected leader of his small band of friends, so unfortunately for him he was forced to fight without them for once. Martin looked as pleased as I did to be fighting alongside one another though. A trustworthy friend at your back meant everything in a fight.

The crowd of players were getting progressively louder, and I zoned back in to listen to the culmination of Arthur's speech. "…And now, we shall march to the eighth floor boss arena!" Arthur bellowed loudly, and his Knights began a loud, thunderous cheer. This was Arthur's plan to fight against Ricochet. We would steal the boss fight from him, steal the invaluable experience and rewards that he always claimed for himself and his fellow Builders. This tactic was far less… violent then what I originally had in mind when I agreed on fighting Ricochet, but I had to admit, it was far more moral. I felt that I had murdered enough players in this game already.

And so we began to march through the eighth floor major dungeon. Prince and Iris stayed close to my side, far away from Arthur. At first, Arthur had been adamant in his refusal of the two, claiming that they brought no benefits to the faction. They were not leaders of a party, and unlike me, they were not obscenely high leveled It had taken quite a bit of convincing and shouting until I reluctantly won Arthur over. Prince and Iris desperately wanted the experience boost from the boss fight. They wanted to be stronger so they could track down and avenge the source of their friends' deaths. Similar to me, they were convinced that this was all Ricochet's fault, and they were more than happy to join me in my fight against Ricochet.

I sighed heavily, as I had been doing a lot lately. How had it come to this? I had once trusted Ricochet completely. That had been just two weeks ago, fourteen days, but now, he was number one on my list of most wanted. How had he changed so fast, and become so despicable?

Martin saw me brooding miserably, and gave me a forceful pat on the back, trying to cheer me up. When I told him to bugger off he just released his colourful laugh, unaffected by my hostility. The Spaniard was a great friend, I just wish he didn't have to call me 'amigo' all the time.

"Are you going to take it out?" Prince asked me, and I knew exactly what he was talking about. Last night, I had showed Prince and Iris the treasure I had found a week ago, when I befriended Goldor. Goldor, who was currently draped around my neck, fake-sleeping like usual, opened a lazy red eye in impatience. It appeared that even Goldor wanted me to start using the treasure I'd found.

"Not yet, I'm going to wait until I really need it," I said back to Prince.

"Really need it? We're going up against a floor boss here Sirius. What other time could you possibly need it more?" Prince asked, irritation colouring his voice when he realized that I was potentially endangering the party, more importantly Iris, by not going full out.

"Probably when I fight Ricochet," I said, answering Prince, who looked sufficiently pleased with my answer.

"Fine, just don't get yourself killed out there, old man," he said, and I smiled at the small insult. Sure, it was offending to me, but I was more pleased by it symbolizing Prince's recovery.

"I'm not an old man, rather, you're just a young kid," I said back, and he gave me a quick smile, the first one I'd seen since the massacre. The healing would be slow, but it was already beginning. If only I could keep nurturing it.

"We're here," Iris said softly. She was no longer fazing out. Instead, her eyes were narrowed in concentration, and her hand was running softly up and down the hilt of her spear. We all quietened down in preparation for the fight. Everyone checked potions and equipment one final time, and with a loud bellow from Arthur, he pushed the large double doors open and we marched into the arena.

A variety of several different coloured sabre-toothed tigers patrolled the edges of the arena; to which about half of the assault team split off to quickly deal with. My party was the first boss strike team, and so we were glancing around the room for the boss that should appear any moment.

With a loud boom and several crashes a giant ape fell from the ceiling into middle of the arena. The snarling, slobbering ape was called "King Kong", in honour of the larger, prehistoric, movie-habituating ape. This primate was about three meter tall, with large, long, muscle ridden arms hanging loosely. Saliva trickled down the ape's chin, which he licked away with his long tongue, displaying an uneven, but needle sharp, layer of teeth. Four health bars appeared in rapid succession above the beast signalling for the battle to begin.

I was to be the distraction, which was quite literally the most difficult job possible. To be a distraction to a boss, one had to constantly unload high damage dealing attacks, most often sword skill based attacks on the boss. This meant that the distracter was basically the highest damage dealer on the field. The job was insanely difficult, near impossible, because the boss would be viciously targeting one sole player, me, who had to keep up a barrage of attacks while dodging.

Even worse for me, I was certain that one direct hit would mean instant death for me. I was truly playing one of the most dangerous games of tag in my existence.

The reason why this distraction tactic was useful was because while I was the centre of attention, other players were completely free to target and unload sword skills on the ape without fear of being targeted. Compared to my attacks, their damage would be minimal, (they were all about five levels lower then me), but it stacked up overtime. Martin refused to join the 'damaging' group, and instead became my lifesaver when it was needed. It was needed far more often then I would have preferred.

The ape's attacks were fast and brutal. I had at first been able to easily dodge the attacks that had come one at a time, but just like all other bosses, this oversized monkey quickly adjusted his tactics, and begun chaining several martial art like moves together.

A low kick that threatened to not just sweep under my feet, but also crush my body up to my shoulder, swung out at me. I pushed my Agility and Acrobatics to the limit and launched myself up vertically. The ape was waiting for this though, and in the momentum of his low kick, swung his fist around in a backhand aiming at my chest.

Unable to manoeuvre in midair, I had little choice left but to interrupt the attack with my own sword. Activating Vertical Crush while jumping was difficult, but not impossible, and my glowing white broadsword smashed into the ape's fist. The ape had a higher strength stat then me unfortunately, so not only did my stun effect refuse to activate, but I was pushed backwards slightly as I fell to the ground.

Another fist, this time from the other direction, was swinging towards me, but this time I had momentum in the air. I curled up into a ball, just dodging the incoming fist, and crashed into the ground. The collision chipped away at my health, a laughable event for someone at my level, but I was more threatened by the foot that was about the squash me. I tried to roll out of the way, but my Legion Broadsword was stuck in the ground, and I couldn't leave it behind. A large shadow fell over my face, threatening me with death.

Then the Spaniard was there, red cape billowing out from his heavy, solid, steel amour. He had an enormous kite shield in his left hand, which he had dug the tip into the ground, and created a powerful, temporary shelter for us. Martin's health fell about 10% from the first defended attack, but then the ape grew into a raging frenzy, and consecutive, powerful punches began to quickly drain Martin's health reserves.

Yanking my sword out of the ground, I side stepped out of Martin's protective shield, and began tilting towards the ground. King Kong had two hands entwined in each other, raised above his head , and was getting ready for his most powerful , hammer-like attack that would be highly damaging, but not quite fatal, to Martin. The move had a slow preparation rate, and was usually easy to avoid, but Martin had his shield dug into the ground, and was hastily trying to remove it.

The world exploded around me in a blur as I activated Ghost Strike. I sped along the ground, almost vertically, until I was a meter away from King Kong. I dropped my right foot, and using it as a pivot point, I swung my body upwards, simultaneously ripping my blade vertically up the ape's chest. King Kong screamed in agony, and his powerful move was interrupted. The second part of Ghost Rush, the vertical downwards slash, pushed the giant monkey off balance, causing it to stumble back several steps. Martin yanked his shield out of the ground and downed a health potion.

"Thanks amigo," he shouted happily, pleased to be fighting with his friend once again.

"Stop calling me that!" I demanded, but Martin just laughed it away.

"Give me sixty seconds and I'll be back in. Hold on until then amigo," Martin said, more seriously this time, and I didn't have time to berate him as I rolled out of the way of an incoming fist. This hectic, overly dangerous battle plan continued for about twenty minutes, until finally the constant damage inflicted by Arthur, Prince, Iris and the second in command, depleted the first health bar. Arthur gave a solid cheer, which every one in the room responded to, but then I was ordering us to fall back and let the second and third assault groups to take on the boss.

Arthur looked displeased, even though I explained that I needed to rest, that this kind of fighting was mentally exhausting. He couldn't understand. He had literally been standing there for twenty minutes hacking at the calves and the ass of the giant monkey while I played a game of death tag with the fierce beast. He had little choice but to retreat with me though, because once I was no longer the distraction, Arthur had begun taking the heavy monkey blows.

"I want this over as soon as possible," Arthur snarled at me, a side of him I had yet to see before. Usually he was gentle and sympathetic. Was that all an act?

"Listen old man, a normal boss fight takes hours. The rate we're going at is both ridiculous and suicidal, but I'll put up with it. If you try to speed it up any more though, we're all going to die," I shouted back at Arthur, who looked less then pleased to have his authority challenged.

"You tell him, one old man to another," Prince muttered from beside, to which I smacked him over the head playfully.

"We'll go back in once assault groups two and three need to replenish health," I said. I looked at the assault group that had just begun fighting against the boss, and I blanched when I realized that they were already ready to switch out. The other assault group rushed in to replace them, and the first group began eagerly drinking potions.

"Great, looks like we're back on in 60 seconds," I said, extremely disappointed. I was beginning to get a headache. There had been far too many close calls, even with my mind clear. Now that I was getting distracted, Martin was going to have to be even more on his toes.

"It's fine amigo, I've got your back," the Spaniard stated proudly.

"I know Martin, I know," not bothering to berate him. He'd saved my life enough so far that he deserved to call me whatever he wanted. For today, anyway.

The third assault group began screaming as their formation came apart, and they began a hasty, foolish retreat that exposed their backs to their enemy. I interrupted King Kong with a Ghost Strike before he could finish off any of the fleeing players, and once again this dangerous death game I was playing continued.

* * *

"That took far too long in my opinion," Arthur claimed, standing in the middle of the room looking disdainfully at his Knights, particularly me.

"Watch what you say, old man, people died today because of your haste," I snarled at him loudly, unhappy about his attitude.

"I will not allow you to speak to me like that!" Arthur bellowed loudly, his face contorting into rage. "The Knights that died today died nobly!"

"They wouldn't have had to die in the first place if you'd just slowed down," I shouted back, furious as to the way Arthur was treating his Knights like dispensable toys.

"How was I supposed to know that King Kong would equip a giant wooden log as a weapon during his last health bar! The scouts information told us nothing about that," Arthur said in his defence.

"Obviously the scouts never told us that. It's impossible for scouts to lower the boss's health that far to see that happen. This isn't like fighting on Beta information. You should have expected it! I tried telling you that something would happen on the last health bar, but you wouldn't listen," I shouted.

"Sirius," Prince murmured softly.

"Don't stop me Prince," I said, never tearing my gaze off Arthur. "There is no such thing as Beta information anymore. Every fight from now on will rely on our own skills. This was not a difficult boss battle. How on earth do you plan to fight the rest of them if this is how you react to surprises!"

"Sirius," Prince said louder, grabbing the edge of my cloak, but I ignored him.

"Your way of fighting is stupid and suicidal. At least Ricochet doesn't purposely kill off his fighters during boss battles," I shouted at the quickly blanching Arthur. He didn't seem to be blanching from my words however, but from something else.

"Why, thank you Sirius. I never expected to hear such a compliment from you," said a familiar voice from behind.

I spun around on my feet to face the new arrivals. 42 players had spread themselves around the southern point of the room, where the entrance was located. At the centre of the players was Ricochet.

"Yeah, well, you were never meant to hear it," I said, the words spitting from my mouth viciously. I turned on Prince. "Why didn't you tell me he was there!"

"I tried," Prince said bluntly, one of his eyebrows raised in irritation.

"Right, sorry Prince," I said apologetically.

"I must say though, I am surprised to find you with this group Sirius. I never thought you would have accepted a hierarchy-based system. Why, it seems to me that's the reason we had our big conflict." Ricochet's tone was mocking, and unlike the last time I'd seen him, he was currently incredibly calm. A calm Ricochet was terrifying, because it meant he knew exactly what strings he was going to pull.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I think that's how it goes," I said to Ricochet, who looked at me incredulously.

"I don't see what I've done that's made me your enemy," he replied, and then I lost it. All of the fury, the sorrow, the anger, that had been building up inside me since the massacre. Before anyone could stop me I was sprinting, my feet slamming into the ground, before rocketing me off at ridiculously high bursts of speed. My Legion Broadsword was out of me sheathe and swinging through the air seconds after my movement began.

I saw Ricochet flinch at my sudden display of anger. He instinctually stepped backwards while trying to draw his hammer, but he wasn't going to be fast enough. We weren't in a safe zone either. We were in a dungeon. Nothing was going to stop me from cleaving Ricochet into two pieces.

Nothing was going to stop me, except for a blur of black that rocketed towards me at a speed faster then mine, causing my feet to screech against the ground in protest as I stalled my movement else I be impaled on the incoming blade. A sword bathed in black whipped vertically upwards, and I arched my spine backwards to avoid the strike by no more than a finger. I was familiar with the move. It was Ghost Strike, and I knew very well about the second chain attack in the sword skill. Knowing full well that avoiding the move would be far easier then blocking, I arched my back even further until my hands were on the ground behind me, and I flipped myself backwards in a back-handspring.

The sword bathed in black slammed harshly into the ground in front of me, creating a single, loud, clang that echoed around the room. I had known the trajectory of the attack perfectly, just as I knew the wielder of the black bathed sword perfectly.

"Out of the way Rhythm, I have no need to fight you a second time," I said, my voice trembling as the lust for battle built up in my body.

"I don't know why you're doing this Sirius, but stop, now!" Rhythm's voice was steadfast and solid. His eyes told me that he would not hold anything back if we fought each other.

I feinted right, activated Horizontal bolt, and felt my body being ripped towards the left. My broadsword arched out in from of me, ready to tear into Rhythm's chest. Rhythm's sword was suddenly slammed down into the ground beside him, created a solid and sudden defence. There was a loud clash as my moving sword slammed into his stationary sword. Rhythm pulled his giant sword out of the ground, and with his sword bathed in pure black, activated a Vertical Crush. In an effort to counter his attack, I activated my own Vertical Crush, and our two weapons, mine coated in starlight white, his coated in midnight black, collided heavily. I was stunned when I was violently pushed back several meters.

"You can't win with that sword Sirius, not when I'm using this," Rhythm said, while holding up his giant claymore for me to see. It looked like it was made of some sort of silver material, as it shone brighter than any steel I'd ever seen. More shocking were the veins of ruby red that ran down the weapon. It was definitely a new weapon that Rhythm had acquired in the past two weeks. It obviously outclassed my Legion Broadsword, especially it's weight,

"There, there, I'm glad that's settled now. Let's have a more peaceful conversation," Ricochet said, clapping his hands as he spoke. I remembered my reason for fighting again. I remembered wanting to dismember and decapitate Ricochet.

"I won't lose," I said quietly, but everyone in the room still heard me. "I won't be stopped. I won't let you stop me." My glare pierced Rhythm's eyes, who for the first time since he'd seen me today looked slightly nervous. He was reading my eyes, just as I could read his, and he read that I was currently dangerous to him.

With a swipe of my menu and a quick navigating through my inventory, my Legion Broadsword disappeared from my hands, and in its place spawned a pure golden two handed broadsword. It wasn't actually made of gold, but the Golden Grass Dragon scales that composed the weapon were as close to real gold as one could imagine. The only part of the weapon not gold were two large red orbs on each end of the hilt guard that looked familiarly like Goldor's red Irises. It was only to be expected that the blade would be comparable to Goldor, as he had been the one to lead me to this particular treasure.

Goldor squawked happily at finally seeing the sword being released from my inventory. He slithered off my shoulder and down my right arm. He wrapped his long tail and thin limbs around my forearm and rested his head on the hilt of the weapon beneath my palm. Goldor's golden scaled camouflaged with the gold of the blade, and to an observing eye, he almost seemed to be part of the weapon itself.

"What, is that?" Rhythm said, staring at the glittering blade in awe.

"This, is Grasswhistle," I said softly, saying the name in reverence. The fact that I had acquired the weapon recently, and that I hadn't bought it at a shop, but found it in a treasure chest meant that it was an incredibly high levelled weapon. It's incredible weight felt discomforting in my hands, especially after months of fighting with the much lighter Legion Broadsword. That was the main reason I had been so reluctant to switch weapons. The foreign feel of a new sword was an awkward feeling, and it would probably be weeks of fighting before I finally felt comfortable with it again. Of course, I would have to repeat the whole process again once I found a better weapon. That was just how this world worked.

I was suddenly tilting my body towards the ground, preparing myself to activate Ghost Rush. Rhythm hastily copied my movements, preparing his own sword skill. A white glow wrapped itself around Grasswhistle, but the faint gold of the sword could be seen pulsing through the surrounding starlight. My body began accelerating forwards, the wind tearing at my body, the world at my sides blurring and distorting. The only thing that was clear in my vision was the black ghost hurtling towards me at a speed rivalling my own.

White gold and midnight black collided, the two handed swords smashing into each other as they rose upwards. The difference in weapon quality was observable immediately, with Rhythm being lifted a foot in the air from the impact. Because he was in midair, he had no support for the second chain of his attack, and when our blades collided again, Rhythm was thrown back several meters, rolling painfully to a stop.

With Rhythm incapacitated I immediately moved onto my next target, Ricochet. This time Ricochet was ready for me, his one handed hammer out in an offensive position, daring me to approach. I advanced with no hesitation, activated Sword Play, and the quick, three chain flurry broke Ricochet's defence. Leaving no time for recovery I activated Vertical Strike, chaining the two sword skills together. Ricochet raised his buckler in defence, but it slammed into the ground violently, unable to absorb the impact of Grasswhistle.

I was frozen in lag for a moment as control wrestled its way back to my body, but Ricochet failed to press the advantage, as he appeared to have contracted at least part of the stunning effect from my move. With no sword skills left at my disposal, the remaining skills recharging, I simply executed a powerful, horizontal slash to Ricochet's chest. He raised his hammer in defence, but it was obvious that it was far too feeble. The attack would have landed, but I had not anticipated for a ruby veined claymore to aid the solitary hammer in its defence.

Rhythm had recovered, and now, with the help of Ricochet, was able to push the advantage in his direction. I was put on the defensive, slowly retreating as the two advanced players dominated the battle. After a particularly heavy barrage of sword skills my defence was finally shattered, and the two players, Rhythm on my left, Ricochet on my right, began a joint sword skill assault on me from two directions, preventing any escape or avoiding on my part.

This was it for me. With my low Vitality, even just one of these sword skills could probably kill me. To be hit with two at the same time would mean certain death. I didn't feel ready to die though. I felt dissatisfied. Surely my life was going to accumulate to more than just this! I had at least wanted to see Red one last time.

With a sudden loud series of clashes and clangs, two cloaked players violently interrupted the incoming sword skills at my body. They pivoted around Ricochet and Rhythm and stood protectively beside me. With their weapons raised, one sporting a serrated dagger, the other a rapier, they deflected the second assault of sword skills. The resulting impact blew the hoods off the newcomers' faces, and my two saviours became visible.

Crystal smirked at me from my left, her platinum white hair flowing down her body while her violet eyes sparkled mischievously at me.

Red, still gripping her serrated dagger firmly in her right hand, slapped me across the face with her spare left hand.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Red demanded of me. Her green eyes were flashing dangerously, while her fiery hair seemed to be alight in her rage as it cascaded down to her chest. I was glad I got to see Red again, even if it looked like she was now going to be the one to kill me.

* * *

**Yay, Red's back. I'm so happy. I have so much fun writing scenes with her and Sirius. I don't know if that goes both ways, but I hope you enjoy.**

**In all my writing I'm starting to mix things up. and I'm forgetting which floor I may be on. If anyone notices any mistakes, please please tell me :)  
**

**And finally, to those people who reviewed who don't have an account, or disable responses (can you even do that?)... MAKE AN ACCOUNT. I love responding to you guys, but I don't feel like bothering everyone by doing it the bottom.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	38. A Hero

"I'll ask you again. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Red asked, her voice raised in frustration. I would've explained, but I was having trouble responding at the moment. My brain was going into overtime trying to remind myself that, yes, I was still alive, and that, yes, I had just been saved by two beautiful women.

Red raised her hand as if to slap me again. My face was still stinging from the previous smack, so I quickly gathered my rather sparse thoughts and began talking.

"I'm fighting Ricochet," I said. Rhythm gave a loud cough. "Oh, and Rhythm too I guess," I added.

"Yes, I can see that," Red said dryly. "Would you mind telling me why you're fighting them?" she asked, continued her interrogation. Her fierce green eyes were delving into my mind, and I was suddenly beginning to question my previous, violent actions. Why had I thought that fighting Ricochet would be a good idea?

"Ricochet killed some… friends," I managed to say, my gray eyes smouldering in the remanets of my earlier anger.

"Ricochet physically killed your friends?" Red asked, her voice sounding incredibly sceptical.

"Well, no, it wasn't him that actually killed them. But it's his fault they're dead." I replied, but my excuse was beginning to sound weak.

By now, all 80 other occupants of the room were staring at the small, entwined group of three guys and two girls. I supposed that to them this must be as entertaining as watching a movie. Ricochet and Rhythm were holding back in their assault, content to listen to my excuse. Ricochet in particular looked very interested.

"Do you know anything about this?" Rhythm asked Ricochet, who shook his in response. Red looked at me with judging, green eyes.

"Well, I suppose he might not know anything about it. I don't think he purposefully sent those guys after us," I said, my voice more of a mutter than actually speech.

"What guys are you talking about?" Ricochet asked.

"I don't know their names, but they were part of your Serious. They chased us down in your name, trying to claim glory," I said bitterly. Memories of Burger, Jaxx, Thrash and Whisker flooded into my mind. My hands gripped Grasswhistle tightly, until the pain sensors in my body went off, and a feeling of immense discomfort, often confused with actual pain, flooded through my body.

"And where are those Serious now?" Ricochet asked. He didn't look happy that some of his Serious had supposedly gone out, provoked and attacked a group of players.

"They're gone," I answered simply, not really wanting to go into more detail. The battle had been bloody and quick, with players resorting to desperate measures to survive. It had not been a pretty scene to watch, and the recollections and memories of it were just as horrible.

"I see," Ricochet said absentmindedly. "And you don't know their names?" Ricochet asked, confirming this lack of information.

"I'd know them if I saw their faces, but I guess that's a bit hard to do now," I replied, bitterness and anger layering my voice.

"You have no orange player marker though, you couldn't have killed them," Crystal said, jumping into the conversation.

"Yes, that's because I didn't land the killing blow on any of them. I just had a few friendly fire incidents," I explained.

"Then who killed them?" Red asked, displeasure colouring her voice. I wondered if she was angry that I had almost been murdered, or if it was that I had almost murdered someone else. If there's one thing Red doesn't like, it's murderers.

"Some friends," I replied vaguely, not willing to sacrifice the identities of Prince and Iris.

"Who are these friends of yours Sirius?" Ricochet demanded, glaring at me.

I remained silent, not giving in, even after Red and Rhythm's pointed glares joined Ricochet.

"It was us," a voice behind me said, and I turned around to see Prince and Iris walking up to our small gathering. The 80 or so players around the room began muttering as they realized just how confusing and intricate this scene was becoming.

Ricochet and Red's eyes glanced upwards at the orange player markers above Prince and Iris's heads before their faces changed to an expression of contempt.

"Murderers," Red spat. Prince sent her a blank look, that said far more than one would expect, while Iris muttered some profanities under her breath. I groaned heavily. Why did Red always have to act like this?

"Red, they did it in self-defence, after they watched four of their friends murdered. They are not the bad people in this situation, alright?" I said angrily, reprimanding her. She flushed in embarrassment as she pulled the pieces together, and realized what she had just said. She looked at them and murmured a soft apology, to which neither Prince nor Iris truly accepted.

"So, you're saying these two killed some of the Serious?" Ricochet asked, still trying to figure out the details.

"Four of them, to be precise," Prince said rather savagely, his lips curling up in a sadistic smile.

"Well, they're not my Builders then, I can tell you that. I haven't lost a Builder since the last floor boss battle," Ricochet said, and suddenly the whole situation became so much more complicated.

"They knew you though. They were there when we had our argument about Perilous and the threats," I explained to Ricochet, trying to convince him that the murderous, and now dead Serious had been under his command.

"They weren't Builders in that room at the time though. They were just players I invited to be witness to the argument that I had known was certain to break out when you arrived," Ricochet said. I felt like this situation was slowly being turned on me. Had it been me making the mistake this whole time?

"So you're telling me that those Serious weren't yours?" I asked Ricochet, to which he nodded his head in confirmation, "so who the hell do we blame for this then?" I shouted, frustration boiling up inside me. I wanted revenge, and I had thought that revenge was going to be dealt through Ricochet. Now that revenge was taken away from me, I was left feeling irritated.

Before I could vent my anger however, Red's open palm came up to my face, and a loud smack reverberating around the room as her hand came into contact with my cheek. For an instant my whole body threatened to lose control, and to attack Red. It would have been so easy, so quick, so relieving…

But the next instant I was under control again, and the sudden, but violent thoughts were nothing but a sickening memoir.

"Thanks Red, I needed that," I said, honestly grateful to her less then subtle approach in calming me.

"Anytime," she said, her eyes avoiding looking directly at me.

"Oh! Oh! Can I try Sirius? I've always wanted to slap you," Crystal said, way too enthusiastically for my liking.

"You can bugger off. You've done your job here, haven't you?" I said to Crystal, not in the mood for her joyful antics. Maybe later tonight when I could relax I'd be more willing to joke around.

"What are you doing Sirius," a loud voice bellowed from behind me, "you told me you were going to fight Ricochet, not gossip with him." Arthur was strolling towards us looking rather disgruntled. Martin was close behind him, and he gave me an apologetic shrug as they neared.

"And as I said to you when we met, I'm not anyone's puppet. You can't pull my strings, and I don't like the tune you currently want me to dance to," I said, looking at the wizened man I had recently looked up at in awe. Now he reminded me of nothing but a greedy, power hungry man.

"Why… you… You agreed with me! You agreed with me when I said Ricochet would doom us all! Why are you siding with the fool now?" Arthur shouted at me, and I could almost imagine the spit spraying from his mouth. It was fortunate that SAO hadn't programmed for saliva spray.

"I agreed with you for simplicity sakes. Just because I nod my head doesn't mean I agree with your damned ideas," I said, quickly growing bored of talking to this man. "Besides, I'm not siding with Ricochet," I turned around to glare at the blond haired man. "I still greatly dislike the way he treats the Living."

"I told you, I'm trying to escape this world as fast as I can, we can't afford to waste recourses on the Living," Ricochet said vehemently, desperately trying to explain.

"And I told you, we're stuck here for at least a year. You can't just deprive 7000 players of life for that long just so we can change worlds again," I argued back, but I knew that at this point in time, neither of us would be persuaded.

"So you're leaving us amigo?" Martin asked, sounding rather disappointed. I nodded my head, and Martin reluctantly let it go. Unfortunately, Arthur was far clingier.

"What are you talking about? You can't just leave, you're one of my Knights," Arthur complained.

"Try and stop me," I said to him, finally sick of talking to the old man.

"Don't worry, we're staying with you, old man," Prince said to Arthur, and Iris nodded her head in agreement. Arthur looked anything but relieved at the pair's decision.

"What are you talking about? I never wanted you little murderers here in the first place. You can't just decide to stay," Arthur said, venom in his voice. He was growing extremely tired of players undermining his authority.

"Try and stop us," Prince said mockingly, giving me a quick grin, before heading back to stand with the other Knights. As he walked away he shouted over his shoulder, his words directed at Ricochet.

"Sirius may have forgiven you Ricochet, but I haven't. I will get my revenge for my friends, and you will suffer for it."

Ricochet looked like he was about to argue, but I cut him off. "Don't even think about it, you deserve that," I said to Ricochet.

"Damnit Sirius! Why are you always doing this to me? Can't you just forgive me and let it be done with?"

"I have forgiven you, Ricochet, I just haven't forgotten yet."

Ricochet gave me one last, harsh look, and with a brief call to his fellow Serious, he pushed past me to the stairway that led to the next floor. Rhythm walked by me, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but he decided against it, and marched quickly to catch up to Ricochet.

"Come on, let's go," I said to the two girls who had saved my life, and we followed the large herd of players making their way up the stairs to the ninth floor.

* * *

The stars flickered silently above in the night sky. The intricate programming caused the small specks of starlight to shine as bright as the stars that one would see if they were watching from the middle of an Australian desert. In the middle of nowhere, as some might say.

But I wasn't in the middle of a desert. Tall trees with deep green foliage surrounded me. There was a large, shadowing, rough bark tree every ten meters or so, and the space between was covered in small, leafy shrubs, also of a deep emerald green. A decaying leaf-like carpet, displaying shades of dirt brown and oak gray, covered the floor.

This was certainly not a desert. In fact, it didn't really remind me of anyplace in Australia I'd ever visited. If anything, I would have said it reminded me of a North-American, probably Canadian, landscape. Not that I'd ever been to the northern hemisphere before, but I'd seen plenty of wondrous images through the Internet.

The Internet was something of the past now. Ever since I'd been stuck in here I had lived without an online search engine. Hell, had I ever taken that one for granted? To simply have the desired information at the tip of your fingertips after a few button presses. That, was magic.

Living in this world was, despite the incredibly powerful engines and machines visualizing and sensing the world for my brain, in some ways like living in a world of obsolete technology. It was the basic things that were missing, like the Internet, mobile phones, microwaves and air conditioning.

Looking up at the bright, twinkling stars, surrounding only by nightlife and tree, I sighed as I longed for the conveniences of the other world. The view here was beautiful, and the landscape was incredibly diverse, but it just wasn't enough.

A faint crackling of dry leaves and twigs behind me alerted me to a presence. I glanced over my shoulder and smiled as I saw Red lithely stepping towards the giant log I was sitting upon. She slid her legs over the collapsed oak and sat close beside me. Her colourful green eyes traced the sky, just as I had done moments ago.

"It's pretty, huh?" I said, while staring at her pale face that shone in the moonlight. Of course, I had been talking about the stars though, and most certainly not about her.

She hummed in affirmation, a soft, pleasant sound that I found strangely addicting. After a few more minutes of stargazing she tore her eyes off of the brilliant canopy and faced me.

"Are you alright? You've been out here for about an hour now. Lily and Crystal are starting to get worried," she said. She paused a moment, her lips scrunched up in contemplation. "Goldor too, I think, anyway. I can't quite understand him like you can, but he seems to be missing you."

I smiled, thinking about the small group of friends I had made in this online world. It was strange to think that a few months ago I debunked online friends, thinking them fragile and useless. Now look at me. My 'real' friends had left me, one way or another, and I felt more at ease with these online strangers than I had with almost anyone else in my life.

"I'm fine," I said, with a small smile. Red didn't appear satisfied with my response.

"Don't you 'I'm fine' me. I know for a fact that's a load of…" she trailed off, not wanting to swear.

"Bullshit?" I proposed, to which she nodded, a wry smile on her face. "I guess you're right. I'm just thinking about the other world."

Red fell quiet, and I knew that my words had just spurred similar thoughts in her head. She seemed to be reminiscing about the other world.

"Do you miss it?" she asked, her gaze once again on the stars.

"The other world?" I asked, to which she gave a small nod. "Of course. I lived there for seventeen years, how could I not miss it."

Red looked guilty as she heard my answer. She began to speak in a soft, quiet voice, that I had to strain my ears to hear properly.

"I don't miss it. I don't miss the other world. I've never been able to-" she paused, the word on the tip of her tongue fading. She gave a small cough before continuing. "I've never had so much freedom before. This world is incredible."

"Did you know I was a Beta? Of course you did. I loved the Beta so much. To be able to live a new life in another world, in another body. It was all so much. I knew this game was my calling. So, just like every other Beta, I dove into this world in eager expectance to play the real thing." She fell into silence. I desperately wanted to hear more. I wanted to know more about the mysterious Red. When it appeared that she would not talk any more without some urging, I spoke up.

"And just like every other Beta you became trapped in this world," I said quietly.

"Not just the Beta's. Everyone was trapped in this prison. The difference between me and everyone else though was that I wasn't disappointed. I was happy. No, I was more than happy. I was ecstatic, overjoyed, euphoric." She fell silent again, but I could tell she was about to speak more, just that she needed to compose herself.

"Do you remember when we talked about having a hero-complex? I don't blame you if you don't. It probably didn't seem important to you," Red said, her voice sounding apologetic.

I smiled at the memory that floated in my mind. It was the first time I'd ever had a proper conversation with Red, in the stone mansion on the fifth floor.

"When I learnt that I was trapped in this game, I realized that I had a second chance at life. I could be whatever I wanted. Whoever I wanted. So I decided to be a hero," Red said, her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Yeah, you and two thousand other players," I said with a small laugh. "Sorry," I said, apologizing when I saw her downcast, flushed face.

"No, it's fine. It was childish. I was stupid. And… umm… Sirius?" She asked, her voice tentative.

"Say what you want, I won't laugh this time," I promised, and I meant it. I always kept my promises.

"I'm sorry," Red said, her head hanging low and abashed. "I'm sorry that I made your life so horrible for the first few weeks. I was trying to be a hero, and trying to stop the bad guys." She gave me a wry, sad smile. "As it turned out, you were the hero, and I was the bad guy."

My heart was beating erratically. I couldn't tell if it was pounding rapidly or pumping slowly. My heart was going out to this girl who had tried to kill me several times. My heart was going out to this girl who was near to bursting into tears. I didn't know what to say. I never knew what to say with girls. That's why I'd yet to have a proper date.

But then I remembered a promise I'd made. A promise I made a time ago that felt like years, but was only a few weeks ago.

_"I thought you said you forgave me for that," Red said, annoyed that I had not dropped the topic yet._

_"I did forgive you," I said while grinning, "I just never chose to forget about it."_

_"What will it take to make you forget?"_

_My features grew serious as the mood of the situation changed. "If you tell me your reasons for why you were so concentrated on catching me."_

She'd fulfilled her side of the promise. Now I had to fulfil my side. I reached over with my right arm and pulled her against me in a rough, comforting hug

"Really, I don't remember that," I said, a frown on my face, bless my acting skills.

Red looked at me incredulously, her face nestled on my shoulder. "You don't remember that I tried to kill you several times?" She asked.

"Forgive and Forget, remember?" I said, smirking slightly, my frown fading. Her piercing green eyes stared into the depths of mine, the gaze broken only in the moments the green was hidden beneath her eyelids. After several seconds of this activity, or lack of activity, I was about ready to diagnose her pseudo-comatose. That was, until she burst out of my grip and pulled herself to her feet.

"You can't do that," she shouted, tears forming in her eyes. "It's not fair! You can't just forgive me. I tried to kill you. You should be angry with me. You should hate me! It's not fair!" By now tears were streaming down her pale face. The tears glistened in the moonlight, and twinkled like miniature model stars.

"How come you're the hero?" She asked in a despondent voice, the intensity of her earlier rant gone. "I tried so hard, and I messed everything up. You don't seem to try at all, but you always do all the right things. It's not fair. I wanted to be the hero."

I stood up and wrapped my arms around her in a full embrace. Her hands gripped the front of my shirt and she pushed her head into my chest as she sobbed softly. The top of her red hair tickled my neck, and although I was sorely tempted, I refused the pull to bury my face in her warm looking hair.

Instead I just held her as she bawled her eyes out like a small child. In the morning she would be sorely embarrassed, but for now she didn't seem to care. She was latched onto me tightly, almost as if she was afraid I would leave her.

"You know, I'm not a hero. I'm just a kid with a hero-complex," I said in attempt to reassure her. "I don't always do the right things. God knows I've made my mistakes."

"Then what makes us so different," Red said, sniffling as she wiped away the last of her tears. She didn't try to pull out of my embrace however, but rather seemed content with the arrangement.

"Nothing. Neither of us are heroes. We both have made mistakes, but we both have also done some noble actions. I doubt I'd be standing here tonight if you hadn't saved me from Ricochet and Rhythm."

"Crystal helped too though…" Red murmured, her head against my chest, causing a soft vibration to hum through my body.

"That she did. Both of you were my heroes today." Red looked up at me in disbelief.

"A hero?" she asked, disbelief colouring her voice.

"Just for today. Savour the feeling, you deserve it."

"Although I said some harsh things to you in the dungeon, I want you to know that I don't regret saving you," Red said, and I knew the honesty of the statement as her emerald green eyes stared into my own.

"And I wouldn't want it any other way. I've missed you these past few weeks Red. It was miraculous to see you again," I said, my voice soft and tender as I expressed things to Red that would now have me blushing in the morning.

My arms tightened around Red's thin figure, and if we were in the other world, I would have been worried that the strength of my grip would have shattered her thin bones. As it was, Red simply responded by wrapping her arms around my chest and gripping the back of my shirt firmly. We stood there in the glistening moonlight, the soft sounds of nature surrounding us for both seconds and years. Time didn't cease to be yet it didn't seem to exist either. It was a paradox, and one I was all too happy to accept.

"Red, Sirius, are you out here?" Crystal shouted, her voice piercing the quiet, calm night. Red tore herself out of my arms as if she'd encountered the plague. In the faint moonlight I could see a healthy tinge of red on her usually pale face. I supposed that my face wouldn't have been much better though, especially with the way the SAO system enhances physical displays of emotion.

"Ah, there you are! Lily's looking for the two of you. She said she can't get to bed unless one of you tuck her in. For some reason I'm not adequate enough," Crystal complained, her tantrum ending in a loud huff.

I laughed both at Crystal's pouting face and at the thought of Lily waiting for me to tuck her in. The log cabin that I had rented for the next week lay about 100 meters away, and the soft twinkling of a fire place through the glass windows could just be seen through the thick foliage.

"Let's head back then. I wouldn't want Lily to miss her beauty sleep," I said to the watching girls, who trailed behind me as I led the way back.

The world of SAO was strange. New relationships were made that would have been impossible in the other world. What was even stranger was that the relationships I was making were beginning to become far more important to me than those of my past. For a moment I understood part of the vision Kayaba had seen in his madness as he created and trapped us in this death game. He had built a world that brought humans together.

* * *

**Whew, sorry this took so long. Chinese New Year came up, and the holiday threw all of my carefully nurtured routine out the window, and I'm left in a state of comatose as I sleep through the days and party through the night...**

******Which also means I haven't wrote as far ahead as I would have liked, meaning the next chapter might also be a bit tardy. Sorry readers :( Hopefully the first hint of possible romance in this chapter makes up for that, yes?**

**I beg for your forgiveness.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	39. Relaxation in a Technologic Vacation

I woke up in the morning feeling far more refreshed then I had for the past two weeks. Sleep tried to claim me for itself once again, and I had all but dozed off in the plush, feather bed when Lily burst into my room, the living characterization of infinite energy.

"Wake up, wake up, Sirius," she shouted while she tried to pull my body out of bed. I groaned as the loud noises pierced my ears. Lily might not be strong enough to haul me awake, but her voice was loud enough.

After much complaining on my part, I finally sat up on the bed, ushered Lily out of the room, and quickly changed into my daily battle clothes. The tight, white shirt wrapped around my chest while long tan pants ran down to my ankles. Sturdy looking, leather boots with small, metal spikes enclosed my feet. I strapped the leather vambraces around my forearms, securing them tightly. With a flick of my arms and a swish of cloth, I wrapped my black Cloak of Midnight around my body, immediately noticing the benefits it supplied. Finally, I lowered the soft leather of my weapon sheathe around my head until it sat comfortably on the back of my neck, the strap running down below my left armpit.

I looked in the mirror and examined my reflection. A large commotion had occurred on the previous floor. A hair salon had been discovered. Even more fascinating, a quest had been discovered that rewarded the player with the "Barber" skill. Quite a large number of players had jumped on the chance to become, more or less, a designer.

I had yet to visit the salon, or a barber in training, so my hair looked exactly the same as it did three months ago when I entered this world. My blond hair was still mid-length, just long enough to gel the front up enough to style it. Of course, in this world there was no need for gel. I just had to push my fingers through my hair, and voila. My chinstrap beard ran down my cheekbones and under my jaw, reminding me of the bet I had made with Daniel a long time ago that I would keep it for two months without shaving. I guess I technically won, but I felt that I wasn't exactly playing by the rules.

I smiled as I thought about Daniel. The nightmares that had plagued me since his death had become less of an occurrence lately, almost becoming a rarity. The few times I did have the horrifyingly gruesome dreams I was saved by a burning orange sunset. It was the same colour every time, and it was a colour I now associated with safety.

Pulling myself out of my moping as I examined my face once more. Although the SAO system had frozen my features into a state of youthfulness, my face still looked different to how I once though I looked. As I stared deeper into my reflection, I became absorbed in my gray eyes that had strips of blue storming within. It was the eyes that had changed, I realized with sudden clarity. They were narrower then usual, as if they had a heavy weight pulling my lids down. My eyes were the only feature on my body that represented the tragedies that had bombarded me.

I sighed heavily, dispelled the heavy thoughts that were pervading my mind, and stepped out of my room. The scent of wood fire and fresh, green tree leaves permeated throughout the medium sized log cabin. I could hear Lily laughing in the kitchen, and Goldor's squawking informed me that the two were probably stealing food together.

Leaving the two of them to their antics I turned to face the noise of a door slamming. My jaw dropped as I tried to process the… view, in front of me.

Crystal had walked out of the girls bedroom wearing what was perhaps the skimpiest armour I had ever seen. The steel metal plating could be quite accurately compared to lingerie, and I had serious trouble imagining its defensive capabilities. The chest piece of the armour, rather ironically, concealed only the chest, leaving the neck, jugular, shoulders and stomach completely bare. The lower piece of armour was no more decent, and other than the triangular shaped, shining, metal plate covering her hips like a bathing suit, her lower body was visible. I swallowed uncomfortably as I tried to pull my gaze from her luscious, well toned, long legs.

"Mornin'" Crystal said whilst trying to contain a yawn. She failed to do so, and her whole body arched backwards as she stretched her stiff limbs. My mind played perverted tricks on me as I watched her navel and stomach twist and stretch.

She walked right by me, completely oblivious to my rather pointed stares. If I wasn't mistaken, I would say that she was also completely oblivious to her current indecency. Not that I minded, but I would never say that out loud.

Crystal stopped before she entered the kitchen, and I saw her ears perk slightly as a pearly laugh and an exultant crow rounded the corner. Crystal turned to look at me, still oblivious at my attempts to stare at anywhere but her.

"The AI and your pet in there?" Crystal askedm cocking her head towards the kitchen.

"Does that actually help at all?" I asked, my mind on a completely different track than Crystal's.

"Does what help?" she asked, placing her hands on her near bare hips.

"That," I said, rather unhelpfully, but Crystal seemed to get my message, and she suddenly began blushing profusely.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit! I forgot you were here," Crystal said, her normal calm persona shattered.

"Is that what you've been wearing under your cloak everyday?" I asked, and when I gestured with my hand to her armour, she tucked her arms, which were also bare, in front of her chest. She twisted her body slightly in embarrassment, trying to hide her bare skin, while her knee's bent slightly as she unconsciously trying to make herself smaller.

I glanced to the couch in the small living room, and spotted Crystal's usually ever-present cloak. I lifted it up, slung it over my arm and strolled towards Crystal to return it to her. I froze, however, when a gust of wind blew through the cabin as the front door was yanked open. I glanced over at the open doorway, and saw a frozen Red, her eyes wide, mouth open, as she took in the scene in front of her. A seemingly half naked Crystal crouched in front of me in terror and embarrassment as I held her cloak in my arms.

"Sirius!" Red shrieked, and before I could react, I felt my body flying through the hallway. I coughed in pain when my back slammed into the solid wooden wall. The harassment icon popped up on my screen, and although the temptation was there, I decided to ignore the button else Red blow up at me even more.

"You freaking pervert! I can't believe you'd do this to her," Red shouted as she advanced upon my prone, motionless figure. I groaned, and tried to lift myself up, but one of Red's solid boots slammed me back into the ground.

"But I didn't do anything…" I managed to squeeze out, before Red's boot made contact with my temple. The SAO system caused my head to ring, and my vision to grow blurry. Concussion damage is what the system called it. I was moaning in pain, my hands wrapped around my head, when Red finally let me go.

"But I didn't do anything," I managed to say, this time louder and with more conviction. Red looked at me in disbelief, her hands folded over her chest. Her right foot began tapping on the ground as she waited for an explanation.

"Crystal walked out of her bedroom like that. I was trying to hand her the cloak so she would cover up," I said, grovelling for mercy on the ground like a dog. I smirked when Red span furiously on the spot, her red hair flaying around her like a halo, as she turned on Crystal, who was currently trying to hold back her laughter.

"You skank!" Red yelled at Crystal. Red proceeded to advance violently towards the platinum haired girl, but Crystal launched herself at my body, and I was hard pressed not to fall back down on my ass. Crystal hugged me tightly, whilst revolving my body so that I was placed between her and Red.

"You'll have to go through him first," Crystal shouted at Red.

"Let go of him this instant," Red shouted back. Realizing that she was losing control of her emotions, Red took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Sirius, get off of her," Red said, softly this time, but her greens eyes continued to flicker in irritation. The room was silent for a moment as I felt the will of two girls trying to control me. I was contemplating what my wisest decision, when Crystal shifted slightly, and her steel capped chest piece slipped past my black cloak, and ended up against my thin, undershirt.

"Ohhh, cold," I moaned, and the next instant I was face down on the ground with a splitting headache and tearing eyes. Red stood above me triumphantly, but her eyes were still laced with fiery anger. Crystal gave a short burst of cheeky laughter, but she was quickly subdued by Red and ended up in a similar situation to mine.

"You two are pathetic," Red muttered as she stormed out of the cabin. Lily and Goldor peeked their head around the hallway and looked worriedly at the two casualties.

"Uhh… this is worse than when I woke up after my seventeenth birthday," I groaned, referring to the pounding headache and painful ringing in my ears. Crystal muttered something incomprehensible, but I assumed it was of similar meaning to my complaining. We took our time standing up, careful not to knock our heads on any potential threats.

Finally, we were up on two feet, but after looking at each other for a moment we were collapsed against the wall in fits of laughter. Strangely enough, SAO didn't dictate for tears to form when players laughed hard enough, but I knew that if we were in the other world the tears would have been blinding me. Eventually our gales of laughter subsided to a soft chuckling, and we were able to make conversation.

"So, cold, huh?" Crystal said, her voice mocking.

"As cold as your heart, darling," I replied with a smirk on my face.

"Perhaps you'd like to see what they're like when they're warm?" Crystal said seductively, her voice low and husky. I felt my face physically heating up as I comprehended her words.

"Red's right, you're a skank, you know that?" I said after I recovered from my shock. My face was still bright red though thanks to the damn over-expressive program that controlled my bodily emotions. Crystal dropped her façade, and laughed at my embarrassment.

"Put your cloak on, you're embarrassing everyone in this room," I said as I threw her black cloak at her. She gave me a quick smirk, before flinging the cloth like material around her shoulders and wrapping it firmly around her body.

"I bet you wouldn't mind if it was Red in that armour," Crystal said under her breath as she passed by my in the narrow hallway. She ducked as I threw a wooden chair that flew over her head and crashed into the wall, shattering into wooden spokes and spikes, before disappearing altogether in an array of lights. Her laughter could be heard long after she had fled the log cabin.

I collapsed onto the couch in the living room, which was undeniably the most comfortable piece of furniture I had sat on so far in this world. "God, 24 hours ago I wasn't sure what I'd do without them. Now, I'm just glad they're gone," I muttered to myself. As I felt my eyes sink shut I noticed the unearthly silence of the cabin.

"Lily, could you grab me a glass of water?" I shouted, hoping that she was in the house, but there was no response. "Goldor, you there buddy?" I shouted, but once again there was no answer. I breathed out heavily. The two were probably just outside somewhere having fun. I wasn't too worried. Lily was a smart kid, and Goldor would look after her. Once again, I was alone, as I had been for most of the past two weeks. I let my eyes sink shut, and before any strange, perverse, or depressing thoughts could cross my mind, I was already fast asleep.

* * *

"You what!" Red shrieked. Despite becoming far more reflective on her actions, she had yet to lose the fiery temper that probably came genetically with her red hair.

"I slept the whole day," I muttered as I dug into my meal of rice and barbeque pork, a rather Asian delicacy. Crystal, Red, Lily and I were gathered around a dining table that took up about a quarter of the log cabin. We each had our own meal in front us, while Goldor would swoop down when he thought we weren't paying attention and nab some scraps.

"You slept the whole day," Red said slowly, sounding disappointed, "You're already weaker than everyone else, you can't keep messing around like this."

"What do you mean everyone? I'm level 18, I'm definitely in the top 100. That's good enough for me," I countered.

"But the people who have issues with you are in that top 100," Red said.

"And I don't care," I said, as I began moodily picking at my meal, "Who would want to be the strongest player anyway. You'd have no time to relax." Silence descended upon the five of us as Red pondered my statement.

"So, you don't care about being the strongest then?" Red asked, to which I nodded my head in confirmation. "But if you were the strongest you wouldn't have been in that situation yesterday. We wouldn't have had to save you."

"She tells it like it's a bad thing, but Red quite enjoyed saving you," Crystal said, her violet eyes sparkling in mirth. Red glared at the platinum haired girl for a moment, effectively silencing her, before turning back to face me.

"Well," I said slowly, trying to think of what to say. Sure, yesterday had been pretty horrible. It was a near death experience, and worse than the others I had experienced so far in this world. This one had been a near, near death experience. But if I had been stronger, would Ricochet and Rhythm still be alive, or would I have even more blood on my hands. I already had the blood of one friend. Did I really want the blood of another?

The answer, of course, was no.

"You're right, yesterday was bad, but probably also fortunate," I finally said. Red looked at me with her eyebrows raised, waiting for more of an explanation. "I don't want to kill anyone," I said softly, regret lacing my words. Daniel's face flashed in my mind, quickly followed by Dark Blade, standing grimly with a curved blade in his hands. I shook my head to dispel the vision.

"Why do you hate your Rhythm, Sirius? You used to be friends," Red asked. Usually I would have been annoyed at someone poking into my thoughts and secrets, but after two weeks of isolation, I felt compelled to share my burden with others.

"I don't hate him. Not anymore, at least. I don't think I could ever hate him forever, we're too much alike."

"But?" Red said, pushing me for more.

"But we haven't communicated since our fight. He's been stressed since the game began. He doesn't want to be here. I know that. He'd rather be back in the other world. Not only is he stuck here though, but he got stuck looking after Becka. He can't just abandon her, we're all friends, but it's hard to look after someone who's that mentally unstable."

I took a deep breath before continuing. "I think we're jealous of each other. He's jealous of my freedom, I'm jealous he still has his friend with him. I don't think either of us really understand each other." I gave a short bark of laughter. "That's probably a first too. We used to always understand each other perfectly.

The three girls had all stopped eating and were looking at me with sympathetic expression on their face. Crystal was the first to recover.

"Sirius, you need to get your ass over to Rhythm and talk to him," she said, and I rolled my eyes at her blunt, yet typical way of dealing with things.

"Don't roll your eyes at us, Sirius," Red reprimanded, sounding awfully like my mother. "I really don't like Rhythm. He still scares me, a lot, but I know you're friends with him, and this is killing you." She stopped talking momentarily to regain control of herself. "Crystal's right. Go talk to him. Go apologize. Fix everything up."

I looked at Lily, the only who had yet to speak. She just gave me a small, tight-lipped smile before turning back to her food. Should I talk to Rhythm? I wanted to, I did miss him. He was practically my best mate. I knew he'd understand too. You're not best mates if you don't have that kind of connection.

"Well?" Red asked, quickly growing impatient.

"Perhaps," was all I said before excusing myself from the table and slipping out the front door. Goldor swept through the open window and curled around my shoulders. I scratched him underneath his chin, and he purred in satisfaction.

"What do you think, buddy?" I asked, not expecting a response. Goldor squawked loudly, pulled himself off of my neck and launched himself into the air. Fluttering in front of me, he winked his ruby red eyes playfully before diving into the surrounding foliage. I gave a quick glance at the cabin behind me, the windows lit up by bright, cheery, orange fire-light. The girls would be fine, I didn't have to worry about them. Of course, that feeling might not be mutual, but I could wait until morning to receive any kind of punishment.

Goldor squawked loudly, and the faint echo that accompanied it told me that he was already far ahead. I slowly put one foot in front of the other, heading to the green shrubbery the golden lizard had launched himself through. Suddenly I put on a burst of speed before I sped into the overgrown forest. Branches whipped out at my face, and I was forced to duck and bend my back to dodge them all. My feet stumbled on the uneven ground, and sharp, thorny plants whipped at my arms and legs. I picked up more speed, moving faster and faster. I stopped paying attention to the ground, and let my feet instinctually pick out the trail

A faint flash of gold ahead notified me that I was heading in the right direction. Lazy, red orbs turned around to face me, before they disappeared in another direction. I altered my course, and tore my way through the forest, beginning this game of midnight tag.

I spotted several shadows following me, but they no match for my speed, and they were left far behind. Grasswhistle was on my back in case of an emergency, but I'd rather just run without having to worry about fighting. I briefly wondered who the shadows belonged to. I didn't have to wait long until I found out.

A small gathering of short, gray wrinkled humanoid like creatures sat around a circle, muttering foreign words and rituals as a crackling fire in the middle of them burned brightly. As I approached them they jumped up in surprise, fumbling for their weapons. I put on a burst of speed, and with a release of pent up energy in my legs I launched myself over the lot of them, including the fire. I landed four meters away from my original position, and I didn't even have to pause to absorb the impact. A wide grin grew on my face as the computer generated adrenaline began flowing through my body. I had just cleared four meters no problem. I felt like a super hero right now.

The shrunken creatures screamed and shrieked at me, and as I turned back to look at them, names popped up above their figures. "Forest Goblins" was their name. The goblins raised their weapons in protest and violence, but I was out of their sight seconds after they had spotted me, and once again I was following Goldor. Goldor was whipping in and out of the trees. He refused to fly straight, but rather flew in S shaped patterns, his long, scaly body whipping and curling around tree trunks. The smile never left my face as I ran through the night. I ran past and jumped over countless more goblins, and Goldor just crowed happily when I displayed some of my more flashy acrobatic tricks.

We ran well into the night, enjoying the bright moonlight and the flickering stars. I knew that I couldn't run from my problems forever. I would have to face Ricochet tomorrow, but tonight I was free to run to my hearts content.

* * *

**Running at cheetah fast speeds, oh that would be awesome. That would be one of my main reasons for wanting to be in an online world like SAO. That, and the jumping abilities. in one of the books kirito and asuna jump like 20 feet or something ridiculous. It'd almost be like flying :)**  
**And yeah, thats kinda the purpose of the last half of this chapter, to show how awesome i think running would be in SAO.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	40. Twirling Daggers and Thoughts

**Please don't leave me! I'm back! I'm so sorry for leaving! (I suggest going back and reading the last paragraph or two of the previous chapter to reacquaint yourself with whats going on, because I sure as hell didn't know at first...)**

**I'll be apologizing more in the after note, for now... READ ON!**

* * *

I never returned to the cabin that night. I ran through the wicked wilderness and dark, foreboding forest for hours, until the exhilaration and technologic pumping adrenaline left my body. At about two in the morning Goldor and I ceased our game of tag, and began a more dangerous game of hunting. Countless hoards of goblins fell to my golden blade that night as I fought with reckless abandon. Eventually the morning sun rose and beams of light glared angrily at my weakened eyes, and chased the goblins to their small caves and niches that they hid within during the day. Large birds with powerful looking claws woke with the rising sun, and a violent cawing morning call ravaged my ears.

There were several messages from Red and Crystal in my inbox, but I ignored them. Couldn't those two women understand the concept of alone time? Despite only just being reunited with them, it felt like they'd been hanging around and pestering me for weeks. I needed a break and they were not making it easy for me.

Goldor squawked softly in my ear, his droopy, red eyes winking slowly as his fatigue settled in. I smiled and rubbed the scaly dragon under the chin, to which I received a soft purring of agreement. His long, golden tail curled around one shoulder as he rested his head upon the opposite shoulder. I pulled my Cloak of midnight around myself closer, covering up Goldor from the soft blowing winds so he could sleep. Gradually the silence of the forest encompassed me. A few moments later I felt as if the silence were judging me, calling me names, insulting me, calling me a freaking gutless loser. Perhaps it was my conscious saying that, and not the wind, but I could pretend.

But I couldn't hide, forget, or run any longer. I had to face Rhythm. I couldn't understand why I was so nervous of this fact. We were best friends, and I was certain that we could forgive one another instantly if we gave each other the chance. We were best friends; that had not changed.

But a lot else had changed. This strange world had created changes in everyone. The only ones who were unchanged were those who died during the first day, and the dead can't speak, so their opinions are forgotten. The players of this world have faced death, and it has changed them. Some have risen to the challenge and fought against death. Some have fled from death, and hidden in fearful shadows. Some have embraced death, and now cause despair and horror within the ranks of humans. Perilous, for example, is a name that is quickly become notoriously infamous.

Perhaps I was nervous of meeting with Rhythm become I was scared he had changed. What if he didn't like the way I'd changed? What if he's not the same forgiving friend he was in the other world? Would he abandon me, throw me away?

My mind was tearing me apart, ripping my logical thoughts to shreds and replacing them with fragile, emotional worries. The silence of the forest bore down on me, heavier then before. I felt like the green oaks and vivid evergreens were looking down upon me disapprovingly. I began to feel sick in the stomach, something I was certain was not programmed to happen in this world. The worry was eating at me from the inside out, and there was only one way to end it.

Slowly with, one foot in front of the other, I began walking north, the direction of Rhythm's current living location. I had yet to run from a fight, and I'd be damned if I was going to run away from this one.

* * *

Red twirled the double bladed hunting knife around her fingers like it was no more dangerous than a child's toy. Her eyes were mesmerized as she followed the twinkling, serrated edge twist in and out of her thin, frail fingers. The past three months had been… disappointing. Her right hand snapped out in a flurry of motion, and the S shaped weapon seamlessly flew out of one hand and into the other. They were six months into the game now, and although she had known she shouldn't have expected much, she was still disappointed. This world was meant to be her second chance, her new shot at a new life. Anything would have been better then her previous, crippled life.

That thought awoke a harsh laugh within her, and the weaving dagger flung itself up into the air, freezing momentarily as it reached the apex of its flight, before tumbling back down. Red's hands deftly moved into position, and her fingers stroked and twisted the wooden handle of the serrated blade, and in an effortless movement the weapon was once again winding across her fingers.

Everything had been so interesting and thrilling at the beginning. Chasing Sirius, fighting Sirius, hunting down Sirius; it had all been so ecstatically enjoyable. Sure, she was upset with herself with targeting an innocent man, but that had not meant that she had not had the time of her life.

Maybe that's what had been missing in her life for the past three months. For some reason, Red had thought that after her orange marker had disappeared and she was reunited with Sirius that the two of them would be spending a lot more time together. She had even been foolish enough to think the two of them could live together. Red snorted in a very unladylike matter. Whilst continuing the twirling motion of the dagger in one hand Red opened her inventory with the other and began to sort through her weapons. With a flick of her fingers she brought another double bladed dagger into existence. With another flick of her fingers she had the second dagger revolving around her knuckles of her other hand. She concentrated on synchronizing the spinning patterns of the two daggers on opposite hands. Eventually she was spinning the murderous weapons with subconscious ease, and was free to go back to her ponderings.

Sirius, it all revolved around Sirius. After she and Crystal had persuaded that lovable 6 foot giant to come to terms with his old friend Rhythm things had gone downhill. Sirius had never come home that night. Lily had cried herself to sleep, waiting for Sirius. It was a night that Red remembered all too well; the slow, monotonous hours of whispering soft, soothing words to Lily while Red was left with corrosive worries of her own with no one to comfort her.

Her worries had been for nothing, of course. Sirius was still alive, and hopefully well, but that hadn't meant that everything had gone well. Red had just been worrying about the wrong things. She had been worried that Sirius would be killed in a brawl between him and his old friend. She had never worried that Sirius might leave her in some other way.

Red could still feel the hurt, the searing pain of abandonment within her chest, when she remembered the quiet, but poisonous words said when Sirius returned that day. When she asked how things went, Sirius had just sent her a blank, empty stare. Something had happened between Sirius and Rhythm, and Sirius was keeping it a secret. At the time Red hadn't been affected, she had simply been ecstatic to see Sirius return alive. She failed to notice at the time that Sirius never spoke more than a few words that day, and would often respond to her with just a nod or a murmur. It wasn't until dinner that everything began falling apart.

Red had made a comment about the four of them, herself, Sirius, Crystal and Lily, being too many for the small cabin, and that they should move to somewhere larger. Sirius had given her a quiet stare with a sullen look that Red just couldn't decipher. It seemed that there had been an internal battle of wills in his gray, smouldering eyes. Something won over though, something that Red detested.

"Then you and Crystal should move out."

That had been his response. There was no cheeky smile on his face, no joking lilt in the tone of his voice, no twinkle of amusement in his gray eyes. Only a monotone voice and a blank face could be seen. Twenty-four hours later Red and Crystal were sharing a bedroom in an expensive, well furnished, but strangely uncomfortable first floor inn.

Red hadn't slept that night, or the night after. On the third night, Crystal complained about Red keeping her up all night, and Red, in her sleep deprived irritable state yelled at her to 'bloody well get up and leave'.

The spinning daggers in Red's hand slowed as her heart sank further as she reminisced about Crystal. The two of them had not lost touch. They still ventured out and partied together often, but there was a wall between them that hadn't been there before, and Red had no idea how to tear it down. Red had slept alone and lonely for the past 3 months.

Red's right hand jerked out in a fluid, but rapid motion, and a double bladed serrated dagger launched itself across the small bedroom, piercing itself into a wooden support pillar. Red berated herself on her weakness, her frailness, and her stupidity. The main reason she left the other world for this one was to leave behind her frailty, her inability to do anything herself. She had entered this world to live independently, to live her own life, a life without relying on others, and what had she done? She had gone and fallen for a cute boy.

She was allowed to have a crush, even if it was a girlish one. Everyone went through stages like that in their life. But Red, for some strange reason, had poured her soul into this crush. She remembered the night in the forest when Sirius had held her when her defences fell and her tears cascaded. Never had she cried to someone like that, cried on someone like that. It was her weakness, a liability, and she should be glad that she had been forced away from Sirius.

Red sat on a stool in her small bedroom pondering the past three Sirius-free, months. The world of Sao was beginning to find equilibrium, a balance, if it could be said. The players had been divided into three groups. The Living, who simply lived in the world, The Builders, those who followed Ricochet, and those who followed Arthur and his Knights. The Builders and the Knights fought against each other neck and tooth for the right to fight the floor bosses. Conflicts often arose between the two factions, and although there had been a few casualties, the amount of death was surprisingly and fortunately low. Even against the actual bosses, deaths were kept to a minimum. The players of this world were slowly but surely pacing their way through this game.

So far the Builders were ahead though. They had cleared more than half of the boss floors. Arthur's Knights may have been a larger faction, but they lacked the intelligence and scouting abilities that Ricochet had claim to. Red had joined the Builders on multiple boss fights, but it hadn't been for the experience, or even the thrill of battle, but rather for the chance to see Sirius. But of course, Sirius was never there. Tensions between Ricochet and Sirius were still high, and even if Sirius had wanted to join a boss fight, it was doubtful whether Ricochet would allow it.

Sirius had quite literally been absent for the past three months, which begged the question, just what was he doing? The amount of experience that the boss fights provided meant that even if Sirius was undergoing rigorous solo training, he would still be falling behind the other Serious in terms of level. Sirius had learnt something during his talk with Rhythm, and if it hadn't been for the blatantly hostile attitude Rhythm displayed when Red tried to get him to talk about Sirius, she would have been certain that the two were working together on something. As it was, it seemed that Sirius had pushed himself away from anyone that had once considered him a friend.

Red stood up and walked over to the imbedded dagger in the wooden support pillar. She gripped her hand around the hilt of the weapon, and with a firm tug she pried the point from the wood. Eerily enough, there was no sign on the pillar that there had ever been a dagger imbedded within it. Red sighed, it was the small things like this that reminded players that despite how realistic this world seemed, it was still not the real world. Of course, Sirius would always claim that this world was just as real as the other, that both worlds were just as important as the other. He was the only who thought that though, or at least the only one Red had discovered who thought like that.

What could he be doing? Red began to pace the room at an agitated, uneven gait. She had already checked the Memorial Stone this morning to see that he was still alive, so he was obviously still living. An increasingly discomforting pain inside Red's chest was beginning to irritate her. He was alive, Sirius had to still be alive. Perhaps she should check the Memorial Stone again, just to make sure, to reassure herself.

Red sheathed the two daggers in the straps along her thighs and pulled a black cloak around her slim body. She tugged the heavy wooden door open and stepped out of her small bedroom. She quickly traversed across the tavern and stepped through the open arch to the 24th floor. The pleasant night wind blew across Red's face and caused rebellious wisps of fiery hair to peek out of her hood. A strong scent of apples and sugar cane permeated the air, a reminder of the vast, expansive farmland that surrounded the rural town. Red barely acknowledged the scent however, so used to the remarkable variety of smells the SAO system threw at the players, and instead made her way briskly to the floor teleporter. There was a fortunately small line at the teleporter, probably due to the fact that most players were either sleeping or dining at this moment. Tomorrow morning would be a different story however. A couple thousand of players would migrate from the lower floors to the most recently unlocked 24th floor in order to grind and treasure hunt.

After a disorientating blast of blue light Red stumbled out onto the first floor. She broke out of her stumble into a haste walk, never pausing to get her bearings. After living in the world of SAO for 6 months, the place was as familiar as any neighbourhood Red had ever known in the real world. Red could hear the raucous laughter and loud chatter of parties of players dining in the cheap first floor restaurants, and felt a pang of loneliness surge through her. She could barely remember the last time she had dined with Sirius, Crystal and Lily, but she could clearly recall the emotions that went along with the event; the feeling of being content, carefree, relaxed and happy.

She sighed heavily, her chest drooping forwards, before pushing her feet to move faster. It usually wouldn't do to run in a city, it would attract too much attention to one self, but at night no one would notice, and so Red took off like a rocket. She relished the feeling of her feet against the hard ground, the pressure that would build up in her sole and ankle as she launched off each foot. The feeling sent ecstatic tingles down her spine, and reminded her of why she had wanted to live in this world, live her second life.

Her agility stat was off the roof, she was confident that she was in the top 3 fastest players in this world, and because of this she arrived at the Memorial Stone far sooner than she would have preferred. The inky black stone would have blended in with the dark surroundings if it hadn't been for the pearly white letters neatly engraved in orderly rows. Red saw that the bouquet of flowers she had placed in the morning was still there. The flowers she bought had a durability of about 18 hours; meaning that whenever she visited in the morning her previous offering would be gone. It was rather disorientating to visit the giant tombstone and discover her flowers still there.

Slowly Red ran one of her pale, frail fingers down the list of players, looking for any new names, in particular names starting with 's'. She breathed out a soft sigh of relief when her search turned up without results, but then quickly muttered a small prayer of peace for the two new names that were not there that morning. She left the stone with a confusing confliction of relief and sorrow waging in her heart. Sirius was still alive. Of course he was, Sirius couldn't die, he just wasn't that kind of person. Where was he though? And why had she not seen him for the past three months? What was he doing?

Red began her walk back to the teleporter, ready to return back to the 24th floor. It was expensive living on the most recently unlocked floor, but to a player of Red's level, she had more than enough money to get by. More importantly, Red knew that because Sirius had Lily tagging along with him, he had no choice but to live on the highest floor. Despite the fact that the two players had been living on the same floor for 3 months Red had not seen hide or tail of Sirius. It was infuriating. What was it going to take for Red to see him?

She slid into the blue light and felt her body tingle as she was transported back to the 24th floor. As the light around her faded she glanced up at the sky, and more importantly, the moon. The shining orb was dripping towards the horizon. It was rather late, or rather early, depending on how literally one looked at their watch. Sleep deprivation was a serious issue in the SAO world. Players who sacrificed sleep for levelling found that their reflexes were significantly decreased. It was theorized that the brain would not be able to react fast enough for the Nervegear to transmit the correct signals to the SAO world if the brain was exhausted. Whether that was the case or not, sleep deprivation killed in this world.

With these thoughts in mind Red left hurriedly for her apartment. The rural town was empty as she made her way through the streets, but this kind of loneliness didn't disturb Red. There was no danger for her, even alone. She was strong, scarily so. A player would have to have a death wish to confront her. That's not even taking into consideration the safety measures within the towns. No, unlike the real world, it was perfectly safe for a frail woman to walk home alone past midnight.

Red slipped through the open arch of the inn and headed up the flight of stairs. She could hear the soft, high-pitched voice that could only belong to a woman above her. It must be her neighbour, Red surmised. Despite living in the inn for the past five days, Red had not bothered to discover her neighbour's identity. And the neighbour, vice versa, had not bothered to greet Red. It was a mutual exclusion, Red supposed.

A rough, murmur responded to the woman, and Red's heart missed a beat. She knew that voice. Red tore up the remaining steps, desperate to catch the identity of the couple before they disappeared into their quarters. She was in time to see two cloaked backs in front of her neighbouring door. The taller back twisted the doorknob and creaked the wooden door open for the shorter back. As the shorter one twisted to slip through the door and the taller player Red could tell that the black cloak wrapped around her was doing a poor job of hiding her gender. The girl with the large chest slipped into the apartment, and the taller, presumably the man, followed her through. His gloved reached behind him to close the door, but not before his neck bent around. Although I couldn't recognize the man through the heavy cloak, there was no disguise for those piercing gray eyes. There was an instant when those gray eyes met my green eyes, and I saw a flicker of recognition within them, but then the door slammed shut and I was left alone with an aching heart.

Who was that big chested girl, and what the hell was she doing with Sirius?

…What the hell was my Sirius doing with that girl?

* * *

**FORGIVE ME FORGIVE ME FORGIVE MEEE!**  
**I got stuck on this chapter for a week or so, and then I just kind of gave up, then I got addicted to pokemon and lost a good 70 hours of my life in a fortnight on that, then I climbed a mountain for a week, and by that point, I had completely given up on the story.**

**Pathetic, right :P**

**But I got my sorry ass back here because I felt bad for my reviewers who kept reviewing over my absence. I know first hand the inner pain and turmoil that comes from reading a story, the discovering the author left and is never gonna finish, and when I realized what I'd done, I felt terrible. So, I'm back :)**

**I'll try to hang around this time**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	41. Hide and Seek

I leant heavily against the closed door, and felt the tension in my legs fade as I slid slowly to the floor. I ran my hand through my dirty blond hair, simultaneously pushing my hooded cloak off my head, revealing my piercing gray eyes to the surroundings.

"Are you alright Sirius?" a feminine voice asked. The wrong feminine voice.

"It's fine, everything's fine," I replied briskly, but really, nothing was fine. Everything had just gone wrong.

* * *

_Earlier that day…_

My alarm woke me up minutes before the sun would rise. I groggily played with the transparent menus until I deactivated the seemingly blaring alarm. Although I would have liked nothing more than to sleep in, today was not that day, so instead I dragged myself out of the semi-comfortable bed and began preparing. It took all of five minutes to be outfitted in my fighting gear, and by then the sun could just be seen peeking over the horizon. I didn't have much time, so I left a plate of unique looking fruits on the dining table for Lily, and left the apartment building. I quickly stalked out of the deserted inn and passed through the open arch of the inn.

The full orb-like sun could now be seen resting on the horizon, and realizing I was running late, I picked up my pace. With a powerful muscle contraction and expansion in my legs I launched myself up three meters towards the nearest building. It was a three-story building, and my leap only took me up halfway. My right hand swung forwards and smashed into a windowsill as it fought for purchase. My fingers slipped off the wall, but I had paused my momentum long enough for my left hand to come flying above my head and to grasp onto a stone ornament hanging off the wall.

With a mental grunt I began the climb up the building, looking for impromptu footholds, and internally praising the indestructibility of houses within a safe zone, else parts of the building would be collapsing under my weight at this moment.

I quickly scaled the building without any problems, and I perched myself on the edge, scanning the farming village in order to get my bearings. I spotted the open arch of the inn I was currently residing within, and with my target in sights, I carefully laid myself down upon the roof, so that only my head could be seen peeking off the edge.

I was just in time too, as the moment my stomach hit the ground a flurry of vivid red exited the open arch. Even in the dim morning light I could still see the bright, familiar green eyes sparkling as they took in the surroundings. I glanced at the top right hand of my sight to confirm that my hiding skill was active, which my technologic HID display confirmed. I glanced back to the woman who was walking steadily towards my location, but I didn't panic, I knew she would be unable to find me. Three months of avoiding someone had given me a strange confidence in my abilities to remain hidden.

The woman stalked closer and closer until all I could see was the top of her ginger hair. I subconsciously held my breath as she walked by the building, and I only let my breath go once she had reached the blue light of the teleporter. I sighed sadly when I watched the sickly thin figure disappear.

I missed Red. I missed her dearly.

To this day I am still unsure as to why I am avoiding her. All I know is that after my confrontation with Rhythm three months ago it had seemed necessary. I tapped myself on the head in an attempt to banish my thoughts. It was definitely necessary. Red didn't need to be dragged into the part of the game I was in. The night that she had cried in my arms she had confessed that she thought of this world as a second chance at life, and I was determined to see that her second chance would be happy and peaceful.

I picked myself up off the roof, and silently dropped off the edge, landing on the ground as if I was weightless. I gave a low, eerie whistle, and within seconds a golden dragon collided into my chest. I gave Goldor a small smile and a scratch under the neck before letting him coil around my forearm. I had work to do.

According to my contact, Perilous would be meeting with a player today, and it was up to me to do the hiding and seeking. I knew the location of the meeting, but I would have to arrive early and position myself before they arrived, else I would surely be spotted. Perilous was a dangerous player to underestimate.

Certain that Red was now on the first floor, going through her routine of offering flowers at the Memorial Stone, I hurried to the teleporter and sent myself to the fourteenth floor. The fourteenth floor was an interesting combination of two landscapes; dense redwood trees and large, stone boulders. Many players avoided this floor because of the ease for monsters to hide in the various nooks, crannies and heights. Fortunately for me, hiding was exactly what I wanted to be doing.

I set off at my fastest pace, and felt the dead, still wind resist against my body. The clearing that Perilous would be meeting at was a thirty minute run away for an average player, or a seventeen minute run for me. Goldor let himself slip off my arm, and in moments he was soaring by my side, lazily rolling and sliding throughout the air. His neck would crane back to look at me every few minutes, and one of his ruby red eyes would slowly wink at me, before he would continue his stunts.

Nineteen minutes later I arrived at the clearing. I had taken the wrong path that had lost me time, and although that worried me, I reassured myself that two minutes was hardly going to be a deciding factor. I glanced around the surroundings, looking for the best location to hide. I immediately found it, a branch poking out of a redwood partially hidden behind two criss-crossing boulders. I gave myself a small smile and began looking for the second best hiding place. The best place would probably be scoured by Perilous immediately, and I couldn't take that chance. Instead, I hid myself in the hollow of a rotting redwood that was smashed at two locations by large, mammoth-like stones. There was a small, deteriorated hole in the wood that would let me spy through. It was rather close to the clearing for my liking, but I was confident that it was a less obvious location then the first one.

I glanced up at the sky before climbing into the hollow. I gave the soft, eerie whistle, and I heard a cawing in response from high above. Goldor would be my eyes from above, and would forewarn me if I were in any immediate danger. I took one last look at my surroundings, and then slid into the hollow.

Immediately boredom took over. I had nothing to entertain myself with except my thoughts, and my thoughts were running wild. Eventually they slowed down, like a roulette wheel, and the ball just so happened to land on red. My Red.

It was no coincidence that the inn I was staying in just so happened to be the one Red was staying in. The easiest way to avoid someone completely in a world like SAO is to know where they are at all times. Therefore, I had been living as near as possible to Red as I could. I tried to convince myself that this was only because I didn't want her to discover me, and not because I couldn't bear to be away from her.

I missed Red dearly. There was nothing I wanted more every morning than to jump out of my hiding spot and greet her with a twirling hug. I couldn't though, not while I was chasing down Perilous; my confrontation with Rhythm had confirmed that. Besides, it wasn't as if she needed me in her life. I'd seen her, from a distance of course, hanging around with Crystal, and Red looked happy as could be. She didn't miss me, not like I missed her.

The SAO system suddenly decided to make my stomach growl, and I was pulled out of my thoughts. I blinked in surprised when I realized that it was already afternoon. I pulled out some plain almond biscuits and munched on a few of to sate my in-game appetite. Hopefully my out of game appetite was also being sated somehow.

The fourteenth floor brought with it an early darkness, and as the afternoon faded away, I was forced to begin paying more attention to my surroundings, else I miss something. I waited for hours longer, pleasantly glad that body cramps, pins and needles, and muscle soreness were not part of this world, else the motionless inaction of my body would have been unbearable by the point.

I could hear the faint chirping of cicadas, interrupted only by the low, earthly pounding of the Red Trolls and the consistent foot tapping of the Wood Hyenas. The cicadas chirping meant that it was growing close to midnight, but I wasn't worried about the lack of sighting of Perilous. Midnight was often the time murderers came to meet.

True to the stereotype, as midnight struck, Perilous merged out of the darkness, clad in a pure black cloak, only recognizable by the midnight black scythe upon his back. Simultaneously another cloaked player made their entrance into the clearing. I didn't move a muscle, which wasn't saying much as I hadn't moved any for most the day, but I perked my ears up as I strained to hear the upcoming conversation.

I was sorely disappointed however when I saw the unknown player pull out a long piece of paper, scribble some words down, and pass it over to Perilous, who examined it, and wrote down his response. I almost swore out loud. The two had come prepared for eavesdroppers like me, and were communicating silently. They didn't dare use there in game instant messaging service in case another got access to their menu. Those kind of things happened, especially when players were sleeping. Although it usually occurred between cheating boyfriends and girlfriends, it could be taken to a much more dangerous level when murderers were involved.

They scribbled messages to each other for an uninterrupted ten minutes. Then, the unknown player began dropping items on the ground. Weapons, armour, rings, gold bars, potions, every item looking more and more valuable. Perilous began walking around and storing the items in his inventory. It was a trade, I realized, but an unofficial one. This trade method, through dropping and picking up items, there would be no trade history in either player's menu. I once again swore mentally. This was telling me nothing.

But then I saw a particular item on the ground, a long, silver javelin covered with rubies. I knew that weapon. It was the final hit reward for the 20th floor boss, not that I had been in that fight, but I had heard about it from Martin, who had fought the boss with Ricochet and the Builders. This unknown player was giving away not just high-level equipment, but the highest-level equipment. Someone incredibly high up in the game was in league with the murderers.

Although this was the worst kind of news I could imagine, it was still information, and I was glad that finally, after all this time, I had found something to work from.

The two players traded a few more written messages before the unknown one took out a candle from his inventory, and burnt the paper until it nothing technologic pixels, soon to be erased permanently from the world. The two players quickly shook hands, and then they both turned and went their own way. They took slow steps at first, but by the time they were at the edge of the clearing they were sprinting, eager to lose any potential spies. Unfortunately for them I was already on the move. I had leapt up into the cascading branches of the redwoods and had begun to stalk my prey.

The unknown cloaked player moved quickly, far too fast for any average Living player, which confirmed my theory that I was dealing with someone very high up. Fortunately, despite not being anywhere near as strong as I once was, due to my lack of boss fights, I was still a glass cannon, and my speed stat was off the chart for my level, and I was able to keep up. My plan was to ghost the unknown cloaked player until he revealed either his identity, any other companions he was working with, or he entered accommodation of sorts, in which case I would have to begin staking out the building.

Eventually we arrived at a town, and I was forced to abandon the tree branches for the rooftops. The cloaked player made their way through the town in a haste to reach the teleporter. He barely paused as he activated the commands for teleportation, and disappeared in a burst of blue light. I smirked to myself as I began to apply one of my discovered theories about the SAO world. I leapt off my current roof beside the teleporter, and examined the stone ruins that it stood upon. The blue light of the teleporter was in the shape of a circle, and around the edge of the circle were what appeared to be small stepping stones with runes inscribed upon them. I had only discovered recently that the runes corresponded with numbers. Floor numbers.

Currently, a strange looking symbol that looked remotely like a stick man walking his stick dog was alight, shining softly like moonlight. This represented the floor the teleporter had gone to most recently. I began counting backwards as I tapped the preceding stepping stones, all the way until I ended up at a blank stone that represented the first floor. I had counted twenty-two stones, meaning that the cloaked player had been transported to the 22nd floor. I smiled to myself; this fellow wasn't going to know what hit him.

I was about to step onto the teleporter and blast myself up eight floors when I heard a hesitant but familiar voice.

"Sirius?" The feminine voice called out hopefully, "Is that you?"

I turned around and froze when I saw the speaker. Mid length chestnut hair fell down to the late teenager's large chest. Her neck was perched up as her 5'2 form looked up at my 6'4 form. Hazel eyes stared hopefully into my gray, panicking eyes.

"Becka," I said softly. Then I spoke louder. "We can talk later Becka, I'm really busy now," I said to her as I turned back to the teleporter. I needed to leave now else I'd lose my prey. However, before I could step onto the light, short arms wrapped powerfully around my chest, and I could feel Becka and her assets being pushed tight against my back.

"Sirius, please, please don't leave me," Becka said, tears choking up her voice. I hesitated. I knew that I could easily throw her off and dive through the teleporter, but could I do that to a friend? To a friend who I owed so much to? I had hesitated though, and I realized that the pause had lost me my prey. I sighed heavily. The chase was over. Next time, I would catch him, but tonight, I had lost.

"Alright then Becka, I'll stay with you. Come on, let's go up to my place, we can talk there," I said, trying to keep the tone of disappointment out of my voice. I was unsure if I was successful, but Becka didn't seem to care, and simply repositioned her arms so that she was holding on to me while walking beside me.

"We're going to the 24th floor," I told her, but it hardly mattered, as I was the one controlling the teleporter, and as long as were both on the glowing circle, we only had to activate it once for all of us. Soft, blue light encompassed the two of us and pixel by pixel we disappeared from one location only to appear in another.

"Been here before?" I asked Becka, who was looking around the farm village in amazement.

"Once, briefly, with Rhythm…" She replied, but her voice died when she mentioned Rhythm's name. I breathed out heavily. Just what the hell had happened?

"It reminds me of my grandparents farm back in… back in…" Becka couldn't finish the sentence, and the tears were about to start flowing again. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her body a quick squeeze.

"Come on, lets get you inside," I said, and Becka nodded in agreement, sniffing softly while wiping away her tears. I tapped through my inventory until I found my spare cloak, which I wrapped around Becka, who gratefully pulled her arms through the sleeves and raised the hood.

We walked slowly towards the inn. I had no fears about Red spotting the two of us. Although that could potentially be a disastrous situation, I knew that Red was always asleep by midnight, and it was well past midnight by this point. I had no fears at all as I led Becka through the open arch of the inn, and up the cheery wooden stairs.

"You live here by yourself?" Becka asked, in her soft, feminine voice, hazel eyes peeking out from her hood as she craned her neck to look up at me.

"Well, not quite by myself," I murmured back to her softly as I pulled open the door, which was keyed to only open for Lily or me. I had only opened the door halfway when I felt Becka squeeze her way between the frame and me as she made her way in. I followed her through, and reached my arm out behind me to reach for the doorknob. When my hand only grasped empty air I craned my neck around to look for the handle. I discovered that I had opened the door a bit wider than I thought, and that I had a clear view of the outside stairs and a woman.

My hand reached for the doorknob to close the door, but not before I recognized the fiery hair and green eyes staring at me. In those green eyes I saw recognition, I saw shock, I saw confusion, and I saw betrayal. My own gray eyes widened in realization at what Red must have just seen, but my hand was moving on its own, and before I could react, the wooden door was slamming shut in front of me.

I leant heavily against the closed door, and felt the tension in my legs fade as I slid slowly to the floor. I ran my hand through my dirty blond hair, simultaneously pushing my hooded cloak off my head, revealing my piercing gray eyes to the surroundings.

"Are you alright Sirius?" a feminine voice asked. The wrong feminine voice.

"It's fine, everything's fine," I replied briskly, but really, nothing was fine. Everything had just gone wrong.

* * *

**And there's the other point of view. I'm still trying to figure out all the dynamics of the next arc, so we'll see how the impromptu like writing goes.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**

_p.s. recently, I tried writing a song. It's pretty average, but if you want to feel more connected with this particular author (and its me, so why would you not :P) go check my writer/author page._


	42. Postpone the Past

The piercing ringing of the bell woke me from my slumber. My cloudy gray eyes flickered open, and examined the room with interest. Twenty school desks were neatly lined up in rows and columns, facing the white board at the front of the classroom. The loud shuffling of chairs and distorted chatter crept into my ears as the bell died. I rubbed my smooth, numb jaw, which probably had imprints from the hard, plastic desk that I'd used as a pillow, and I slowly began sliding my books into my backpack.

I stumbled out of the classroom, the bright light outside dazing me briefly. I scratched my chin, and considered the benefits of facial hair; when I was older of course. At the age of sixteen there was little I could grow without looking like a badly mowed lawn. Yawning loudly to myself, I pushed my way through the after school crowd as I made my way to the stairs leading to the ground floor. As per usual, I was off to the front gate to meet with my best friend, Matthew.

As I was heading down the stairs I ran into Daniel. I really didn't know the guy that well, just that he was in my grade, my science class, and in particular, my lab group.

"Yo, Daniel," I said as I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from running away, "The labs due tomorrow, get your stuff together, I'm not doing it all by myself."

"Yeah, whatever," Daniel replied absentmindedly, before tugging himself out of my grip and marching away at a quick walk. "Nerd," I heard him mutter as he walked off.

I shook my head in irritation before continuing down the stairs. There was nothing I could do though, but at least I could say I tried. I sighed heavily to myself. 'Guess who's staying up all night tonight?' I thought to myself.

I arrived at the front gate to the school, and stood in the blissfully warm sun as I waited for Matthew to arrive. A girl bustled past me as I waited. I whipped my neck around to see who it was, but all I could see was the short stature and the mid length chestnut hair. Still, that was enough. I didn't know her name, but I knew the person. She had transferred into the school at the beginning of this year, and in six months, had somehow already become the school whore. Not that I cared, it was her life she was ruining, not mine.

It was five minutes later that I remembered Matthew had a student council meeting, him being the president of my grade, and that he would be leaving school late. I laughed at my own forgetfulness before beginning my walk home.

I had only walked for a few minutes until I rounded a familiar corner to an unfamiliar sight. There was a small gaggle of students hanging around. On a normal day I would've ignored them, and walked right past them, but when I heard crying from their direction, I felt compelled to investigate. As each step brought me closer, the scene became more and more worrisome. The girl from earlier with chestnut hair had her back up to a wooden fence, while a group of students surrounded her, both guys and girls.

"…You skanky little whore, I don't know why you moved here, but you should just go back to where you were before," One of the two girls said, her voice venomous. She was the living entity of a 'plastic' girl. Her hair was so blond it was painful to look at. Perhaps she'd mistaken her hair dye for bleach.

"I'm not a whore! Why does everyone keep calling me that," the currently bullied girl cried out, tears streaming down her face.

I shook my head sadly, what goes around comes around, I supposed. I turned away from the scene and was about to walk off when a loud slapping noise pierced the air, and recaptured my attention. The second girl's hand was swinging through the air as an aftershock of the slap that had landed on the chestnut haired girls cheek, which was already painfully red. The slapping girls meticulously well nurtured dirty blond hair whipped around her overly make-up pasted face. I wouldn't have been surprised if a cloud of face powder would have puffed up if that bitch sneezed.

"Don't lie to me, you freak," she said viciously. The three guys laughed at the scene, not seeming to be disturbed in the slightest.

"But… but, I'm not lying," the bullied girl stammered, her eyes weeping with tears of sorrow, helplessness and self-loathing. "I swear; I'm not lying!" The last of her words came out as a shout, strong, clear and powerful. The guys stopped laughing immediately, while the girls looked terrifyingly vicious.

Something about the way she spoke, the way she shouted those last words of denial resonated within me. I realized that I believed this unknown girl. She wasn't a whore; she was just stuck in the socially catastrophic rumour mill. I dropped my bag to the ground and stepped forward before the two girls could react.

"That's enough," I said, my voice thankfully staying strong and stutter-free. The girls looked at me in annoyance, while the guys just laughed at me.

"Leave, you're annoying," the plastic girl said, barely looking at me.

"You're all fine with this?" I asked the rest of the group. The guys just laughed, as if it was all they could do. Damn mindless idiots. The tallest one stepped forwards, perhaps as an act of intimidation, but I was the tallest one here, and the meaning was lost on me.

"It's not like we're doing anything wrong. She's a whore and the whole school knows it. We just want to have some fun with her before she-" but before he could finish his sentence my fist was already flying towards his face. His nose crunched and bent under the weight of my fist, and before he could scream out in pain my left fist was already accelerating towards his gut.

His two friends rushed me. The one on my left was marginally closer, and got in the first punch before I could react. I stumbled backwards from the impact, my neck twitching in response to the strike. The shortest of the group was to my right, just two steps away from me, and was ready to hit me with a solid right hook. I flinched backwards, and tensed my muscles in preparation for the attack, but suddenly, Daniel appeared from behind me and rugby tackled the short fellow to the ground. The two rolled around on the concrete path, eventually landing on the road, as each struggled for dominance.

I turned back to my opponent, and noticed that the tallest one had regained his footing and looked more than ready to exact revenge. The three girls were watching from behind, two in amusement, and one with both worry and wonder in her hazel eyes.

The two guys were too much for me however, and I fell to their blows as they ganged up on me, using their numbers to their advantage. I receive a particularly painful kick to the chest that caused me to scrunch my back up in pain. As my neck bent inwards, I saw the blur of jeans as someone launched themselves over my fallen body and crash into my assaulters.

"Richard, get your ass up, this ain't over yet!" Matthew shouted at me as he grappled with the shorter boy. I picked myself up off the ground as fast as my aching muscles would allow me, and with a wicked grin on my face, I ran at the taller boy, my fists ready for a fight.

Moments later the fight was over. Daniel and Matthew had come off with only a few scratches, while the three other guys were running from the scene with blood splattered clothing. The two plastic girls were frozen in fear, and were beginning to panic as they realized their protection was gone. Daniel marched up to the two of them, and for a moment, I thought he was going to attack them too.

Instead, he spoke. "Leave," he said, "just leave her alone." The two girls ran off screaming, and we knew the message had been received properly. Daniel then turned to the hazel eyes girl.

"Becky, are you alright?" He asked. Ahh, so Becky was her name, I thought to myself.

"I've told you to get lost so many times, why won't you just leave me?" Becky yelled. Her response surprised me; I was expecting hugs and kisses, not sharp words. Daniel only smiled though, seemingly unaffected by her outburst.

"Cos I'm an idiot, remember? You're the one who told me that," Daniel replied, and once again, Becky's response surprised me as she fell into Daniel's chest and began sobbing.

"Girls," muttered Matthew, "what are you gonna do with them?" I laughed, but the action caused my chest to erupt in pain, and I collapsed to the ground. My breathing was short and shallow, and each breath felt like a dagger being plunged into my chest.

"Damn, I think I broke a rib," I said.

"That's not good," Matthew said, his voice suddenly seriously. Becky was looking at me with horror in her eyes. Matthew noticed this too, and leant over to her, and trying to diffuse the tension, whispered, "It's probably a good thing he can't see his face though," to which Becky only gave a nervous chuckle.

"Looks like there's no hiding this then," I said, more to myself than anyone. My parents were going to kill me.

"Look on the bright side," Daniel said as he held out a hand to help me up, his other arm wrapped protectively around Becky, "At least when the teachers find out, and we get suspended, we'll have an excuse not to do the science project." I just groaned, but there was a smirk on both our faces.

I grasped onto Daniels arm and pulled myself up, wincing the whole way. Matthew slung one of my arms over his shoulder and helped me stay upright. Becky pulled herself out of Daniels grip and walked over to me and gave me a gentle hug, being careful not to squeeze me in case she hurt me.

"I'm so sorry you got hurt," she whispered.

"It's fine," I whispered back, "Just make sure you tell your boyfriend that he's an idiot for me."

She blushed slightly and turned her head away in embarrassment. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Not yet he's not," I said with a small smirk on my face, which turned into full-blown laughter when Becky gave me a small, hopeful smile.

* * *

The piercing ringing of an alarm woke me from my slumber. My cloudy gray eyes flickered open, and examined the room with interest. It was barren, except for the desk in the corner, and the wooden, technologic bed that I slept in. I yawned, and scratched at the chin strap beard on my face. That dream had been a nostalgic one indeed. It was the first dream I'd had of Becky though that didn't involve her stabbing, burning, or drowning me, so I was rather relieved. The nightmares of my past were well and truly gone by now.

I'd gone to bed immediately last night after Red had spotted me, and I had refused to talk to Becka and see what her problem was. That was a mistake, and one that I was going to fix now. The dream had reminded me of something very important. Becka was my friend, and friends never betray each other. We all stood by that, all four of us. Always.

With a few taps on my holographic menu I spawned some clothes for my body, and strapped my giant, golden broadsword to my back. I stroked the handle of Grasswhistle in an act of reassurance, bundled up the small amount of determination within me before it fled, and left my room.

Becka was sitting at the dining table, exactly where I'd left her last night when I'd stormed into my room like a child having a tantrum. Had she been waiting for me all night?

I pulled up a chair beside her and sat down. A rather uncomfortable silence descended upon the two of us, and I was loath to admit that I really did not want to start the conversation, but I knew that I had too. It was my responsibility after what I'd done, or rather hadn't done, last night.

"You sleep well?" I asked the chestnut haired girl. She angled her head toward me slightly, and I could see the heavy, dark rings around her eyes. Her usually vibrant maroon eyes seemed almost pale. "Er, right, I guess not," I said, my voice trailing off. The awkward silence descended again. Just when I was about ready to get up and do something other than sitting, she spoke.

"How about you?" Becka asked.

"How about me what?" I replied, confused. A flash of annoyance crossed her eyes, and for a moment her maroon eyes became recognizable. God, I remember now, she was always getting annoyed at me, at Daniel too. There was never a quiet moment with her around. An instant later the spark was gone though, and there was nothing left but pale misery.

"How did you sleep?" She asked, rephrasing her question.

"Oh, right. Good, I guess." I groaned internally, this was atrocious, disgusting even. I couldn't even have a proper conversation with her. How had this happened? How had we changed? I could still remember from my dream how she used to be. As I got lost in my thoughts, words began to form on my tongue subconsciously.

"Do you remember the first time we met," I said. It wasn't a question.

"Of course," she replied, her previous monotone voice slightly more colourful. "You fell over and broke a rib."

"Can you believe that my parents actually believed that?"

"No they didn't."

"Yes they did."

"No they didn't, they told me."

I sighed heavily. "They always did like you more than me." Finally, a smile. I could see the corners of her lips quirking up.

"They told me that too," she said. We looked at each other, and before we knew it we were laughing. The ice was finally broken, and it had only taken a one tonne sledgehammer. Our laughter didn't stop either. We grew louder and louder as the nostalgic memories of home covered our minds. Becka's chiming laughter was so familiar, so identical to how I remembered it. I was glad that things like that hadn't changed.

"Brother?" A soft, tiny voice said from behind us, interrupting our laughter. I turned around to see that we had woken Lily up from her slumber. She looked confused, but rather relieved to see Becka and I laughing together.

"Come here sweetie," I said to Lily, who skipped over to my chair and jumped on my lap. I ruffled her hair as I turned back to Becka.

"I don't think I introduced you two earlier. Becka this is Lily, Lily this is Becka," I said.

Becka eyes were wide open in adoration. She looked about ready to kidnap Lily from me. "Hello Lily," Becka said, her voice an octave higher as she tried to maker herself sound sweeter. "I'm Sirius's sister."

"Adopted sister," I said quickly, earning me a murderous glare from maroon eyes.

"But… but I'm Sirius's sister…" Lily said, her voice barely audible. Suddenly her head whipped up towards Becka. "You liar! You're not Sirius's sister, I won't let you be!" and with tears in her eyes, Lily fled the living room back to her bedroom. Becka was shocked, her eyes still wide open, but open in surprise now.

"I… but… what…" Becka was stunned. "What did I do?"

I chuckled, but softly enough so that Lily wouldn't hear and feel betrayed by me. "Nothing, give her some time and she'll come around," I said, but under my breath I added "in like two years." Becka still looked unsure, but was ready to let the topic drop. Her eyes had lost her former spark, and were sinking back to their pale colour.

"Sirius, you're ready to listen to me now, right?" Becka asked tentatively.

I reached a hand over to grab one of Becka's small hands, and gave it a soft squeeze. Her hands were small, I noticed, but nothing like Red's hands, which were frail with twiglike fingers. I missed Red…

I quickly pulled my hand away before my thoughts got any more sidetracked. "I'm here for you, Becka. Speak away, I'll listen," I said reassuringly.

"Well, I'm here because… because well… because Matthew, I mean Rhythm, has changed,"

"Changed how?" I asked, dreading where this was going.

"Ever since he had that fight with you he's been acting differently. I need to know what happened. Please Sirius, can you tell me?"

Damn, this was going exactly where I thought it was. I couldn't tell Becka yet what Rhythm and I had talked about. Not yet anyway. It was too soon. Besides, I didn't want to get Becka involved at all if I had the chance.

"You don't need to know what happened Becka, but don't worry, it'll be all right," I said, trying to placate her.

"No it won't, it won't be all right, you don't understand anything," Becka said, her voice rising in both pitch and volume.

"What don't I understand Becka,"

"Rhythm's been meeting up with murderers," she said, and I felt my stomach drop out.

"How do you know?" I asked sharply. My voice was probably too sharp as I saw Becka flinch at the tone of my voice.

"I… I followed him-"

"When?" I interrupted, "How long?"

"J-just last week. He was acting so distant and was never around at night so I decided to follow him and… and I saw him meeting with orange players and giving them weapons and gold."

I swore to myself. That meant that Becka had been putting herself in danger, trying to figure out what was going on. She had probably been at the clearing last night. She thought that mystery player I had been stalking was Rhythm. She was wrong. I knew she was wrong. There was no way that the mystery player was Rhythm, I was more than certain.

"Maybe you followed the wrong person?" I said, trying to convince Becka that she had nothing to worry about. "Maybe you-"

"I know what I saw, okay!" Becka screamed as she stood up abruptly, her chair sliding backwards. There were tears bristling in her eyes as she looked at me sadly. "I know what I saw…" Her voice trailed off. Damn it all. Everything was getting messed up. This wasn't meant to be happening. Rhythm had promised this wouldn't happen.

I was about to formulate a response, an excuse, when my message icon began to flare on my screen. I didn't have many friends who could message me, and those that did knew that I highly disliked the flashing notifications, and they only messaged me in an emergency. Ignoring Becka, who was currently staring at me like a lost puppy looking for help, I played with my virtual screen as I viewed the message.

_25__th__ boss floor fight has gone wrong. Emergency. Need help immediately. Let us postpone the past._

_Rhythm_

* * *

**And again, I procrastinated, and this chapter came out hella late. Sorry readers :( Exams are coming up though, and if you know what that feels like, maybe you can sympathize :P**

I wasn't too sure about this chapter, especially the beginning. So, tell me what you think please.

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	43. The Builders

Ricochet glanced around the battlefield, which at this point could be classified as a morgue, in desperation. His right hand scrunched up around the wooden pommel of his faithful stainless steel hammer, or whatever stainless steel was called in this world, as he tried to determine a way to salvage the situation. He suddenly felt years older than his age of twenty-nine. Not thirty, but twenty-nine, and he was going to be damned if he woke up from this video game world already in his thirties.

Ricochet was bumped out of his thoughts, quite literally, by Aloe Vera, or as she preferred to be called, Alice. Her forty-five year old frame responded unnaturally gracefully within the SAO system limitations, and she was able to perform a pirouette of sorts as she both pushed Ricochet out of an incoming battle-axe while defending herself from another identical shaped weapon. Her husband, Frankenstein, more commonly known as Frank slipt out of his wife's shadows and pummelled the double headed battle axe wielding orc with his two handed obsidian sledgehammer. Frank manoeuvred the gigantic weapon like the monster bequeathed within his name may have, despite the gray hairs signifying his fifties apparent on his head. The cracking of twin skulls shattering beneath the weight of the weapon could be heard resonating and resounding around the battle worn arena.

"You alright, my friend?" Frank asked in his consistent gruff voice, holding out a hand to lift Ricochet off the ground. Ricochet grasped the hand eagerly, and found himself flung on his feet moments later.

"I'm alive, so I've never been better," Ricochet replied, "I think, anyway," he muttered.

"Well, grand and noble leader. Would you please lead us?" When Ricochet remained silent, Frank probed him again. "That is what leaders do right? Or is this like the time when I thought that a fly fisherman was a fisherman who could fly?"

Ricochet gave out a brief laugh, that was more of a bark of desperation than a sound of humour, but it was enough to get the gears in his head turning. He saw in the distance that Rhythm, the most competent player of the Builders, was currently fighting the boss in a solo duel, and was unfortunately on the losing end. The enormous two headed minotaur was only dwarfed by one thing in the room, and that was the giant, blood weeping great axe that the bull was currently swinging around his head like a broomstick. Ricochet turned back to the elderly married couple.

"I'm not even going to try and split the two of you up," They both grinned at Ricochet, "So instead I'm sending you both over to Rhythm as backup. Make sure he doesn't die, understand!" It wasn't a question. Rhythm was too valuable to lose. If he died, they might as well all be dead, especially with how bleak any attempt of escape was currently looking.

"They'll have to get to Rhythm over our dead bodies," Frank proclaimed proudly, before tenderly reaching out to his wife's hand. The two gave each other a small, fleeting smile that portrayed years of love and trust, before dashing off into battle.

Ricochet already had his back to the couple though, and was examining the more serious of the problems; escape. The only entrance, and currently the only exit, was guarded by a small, unmoving legion of double-headed monsters that refused to allow any player to pass. All they needed was a tall bearded man with a pointy had holding a giant motivational sign stating in large bold letters 'You shall not pass' to make the situation any more transparent. The 25th boss battle was a fight to the death. There was no retreat, or at least that's what the game was trying to tell Ricochet. He'd be damned though if he blatantly listened to the game like teenage kids listen to upperclassmen for great ideas.

Unfortunately, Ricochet couldn't seem to summon any ideas to mind. As a two headed hairy wolf warrior attacked Ricochet with twin scimitars, Ricochet once again felt the heavy pang of failure in his chest as he looked at the glowing tombstones that surrounded the entrance. Twenty three players murdered trying to break through and escape under Ricochet's orders. Not just twenty three ordinary players, but twenty three Builders, the best of the best, not just at fighting, but in mindset and willpower. Each member of the Builders had a reason to escape this prison-like video game. Hammerhead had to get back to the real world for his wedding, assuming his fiancée had not yet given up hope and left him. Florist wanted to watch her twins make their way through pre-school, and eventually walk with them to their first day of real school. Obscenity only wanted to see his dying grandmother one last time before she passed away.

And now they were all dead.

They had lost five Builders before the double headed minotaur's (so aptly named the Biminataur) first health bar was depleted, and it was at this point that Ricochet had ordered the retreat.

And then that monstrous legion had appeared, and another twenty-three builders were killed.

In the panic that ensued, the Biminataur had crushed two more Builders who had been acting as shields, and stalling for time, and would have moved on to slay the stunned party of six players if it were not for the fast interception from Rhythm. Where that guy had learnt to fight, Ricochet had no idea, but he was buying more time than any player could have possibly imagined.

Sending Frank and Alice over to Rhythm left Ricochet with eight players, not including himself, to either lower the Biminataur's health bar twice more, or to break through the legion guarding the exit and retreat. Ricochet felt the impossibility of the task weighing down upon him, and even the cracking sound of twin skulls shattering as he slammed his hammer downwards did little to appease his worry. Ricochet felt like screaming. They didn't need a plan or a strategy right now. They needed a miracle.

People often relate miracles to God, and that fluffy, blinding white ideal of heaven, where God sits on a big white puffy throne, with flapping white angels with white feathery wings frolicking around playing trumpets and flutes. So when Ricochet saw the blinding starlight illuminate the exit, despite his rather unreligious beliefs, all he could think of was that a miracle had arrived.

Of course, this particular miracle shot past the two headed legion with a torrent of swear words and vile curses, which quickly shattered any of Ricochets hopes of an angel. The explosion of light vanished, and in it's midst Ricochet saw the only player that could make his heart both elate and sink.

Sirius.

Ricochet watched, not fully believing what was occurring, as Sirius galloped across the arena. Each of his bounds were ridiculously large, and the speed at which he travelled suggested to Ricochet that Sirius was the fastest player in the game at this moment.

Sirius unsheathed his giant golden sword; GrassWhistle, Ricochet recalled. Or was it FlowerPetal? It didn't make a damn difference at this point though. What did matter was that the golden broadsword was swinging around Sirius's body lazily as the blinding starlight began to build up around the weapon, creating a white-gold complexion.

Sirius never once hesitated, slowed down, or missteped as he charged at the Biminataur in his psychedelic suicide charge. When he was about twelve feet from the boss, Sirius suddenly vanished in a ghost like will-o-wisp which shot forwards like a cannonball from a cannon. The next moment Sirius reappeared a mere foot in front of the Biminataur with his sword swinging upwards. As the broadsword connected with the boss's steel like hide, a brutal screeching filled the room, which was followed by a roar of pain moments later from the bull.

The blood seeping great axe began an unexpectedly rapid descent upon Sirius, and Ricochet felt his heart plummet as he watched his miracle about to be shattered into a million technologic polygons.

Except that never happened. Midnight black light surrounded the white starlight shining off of Sirius as Rhythm launched himself over the golden broadsword and deflected the incoming mass of steel. The two broadsword users then began a remarkable attacking combination that left Ricochet stunned, allowing a pesky two headed monkey to land a blow on his unprotected shoulder. The colour sucking black and the fluorescent white glow entwined and combined with one another until Ricochet thought he was looking at a living reincarnation of the yin and yang sign. Poor Frank and Alice were barely able to keep up with the two teenagers, let alone help them in any way.

Finally realizing that a miracle had truly arrived, Ricochet felt his mind focusing, and he began rallying his remaining Builders. The nine of them formed to create some sort of macro-party. Ricochet split them into three groups, two on attack, and one on standby and recovery. It would be there job to keep the pesky double brained, but ironically lowly intelligent, minions away from their rescuers. Sirius and Rhythm had their fight to worry about, and Ricochet was damned if he was going to let some two headed llama, or whatever that thing was, distract them.

With hope rekindled in the hearts of the Builders, they began to fight ferociously, but with tact and strategy, never letting any players endanger themselves unnecessarily. This continued for the course of half an hour, until finally Yin and Yang lowered the Biminataur to its final health bar.

And just when Ricochet thought this shit couldn't get any worse, it did.

The Biminataur's blood soaked great axe burst into devouring flames and before Rhythm or Sirius could retreat from their latest assault, a pulse wave rippled around the bull, stunning the pair. Without pausing, and without mercy, the Biminataur swung his great axe in a wide arc that would cleave Yin and Yang into little pieces, permanently. Being stunned, the two couldn't do anything but stand there in shock and anger as they watched their death whistle towards them.

Clashes of steel, blood and bone erupted from the air in front of Rhythm and Sirius. The great axe had been lodged to a standstill, wedged within the elderly bodies of Frank and Alice. Ricochet could only gape in horror as he watched the two bodies cleave into two, distinct, separate pieces, before the married couple were spared any further torment, and were shattered into non-existence.

Ricochet screamed a shout of pure fury. Undiluted rage at the unfairness of the world, of this world in particular, ran through his blood, into his very heart and soul. Frank and Alice had done nothing to deserve this tragedy, this absolutely disgusting horror. All they wanted was to go back to the real world, and sit by their son who was diagnosed with life threatening cancer. Alice had wanted to hold his hand, and stroke it softly, as she whispered stories and anecdotes to pass the time. Frank wanted to sit with his son, and proudly discuss the latest in the football news, and who would have the best shot at winning this year, and whether the Lions would have any hope at making the finals.

And now Frank and Alice were dead. Their son would never know how hard they had tried to get back to him. Their son would pass away slowly, as the cancer ate away at his body, and he would pass away alone. Ricochet recalled those ugly, now prophetic words. "_They'll have to get to Rhythm over our dead bodies."_

No one deserved that fate. Absolutely no one.

With nothing but thoughts of revenge and blood thirst induced rage, Ricochet charged at the Biminataur with his hammer raised savagely above his head. When Ricochet screamed though, he was surprised to find he wasn't the only one. The remaining eight builders were right behind their leader, as they all screamed at the hopelessness of their situation. As a single unit they fell upon the Biminataur, and steel clashed against the hide like fur that covered the bull's body. Sirius and Rhythm each stepped backwards as they let the crazed mob distract the boss for the time begin. The duo was exhausted from the constant battle they had been under for the past thirty minutes, and coupled with their near death experience, they were more than happy to take a break.

Of course, it was the kind of break in which they had to deal with all the minions that had been left unattended by the now preoccupied Builders.

Finally the nightmare ended. The Biminataur crumbled in defeat and Ricochet could only be thankful that they had not lost any more players. Thirty-two casualties was already a horrific number, and any more would've been unbearable.

Ricochet banished his hammer and buckler to his menu and ran a rugged, course hand through his long, wispy blond hair. It was the typical surfer style of hair, and Ricochet felt a sudden urge to go jump into the nearest ocean and drown himself. It was a feat not yet possible to accomplish in this world unfortunately, as no beaches had yet to be discovered.

Sighing heavily, feeling far older than his age, Ricochet around to face the heroes of the day, Yin and Yang respectively. He was surprised at what he saw however. The two players were still as statues as they eyed each other warily, their two handed sword held casually in their hands, ready for battle at a moments notice. On closer inspection Ricochet could see that their eyes were twitching, and at one point Rhythms lips curled up into a concealed smile. If Ricochet wasn't mistaken, he was certain the two of them were communicating without speaking a word. Ricochet decided that after the brilliant display of fighting he had witnessed, this really shouldn't surprise him. As he himself had coined, the two of them were Yin and Yang.

But, ff that was so, then how come there was an undercurrent of hostility resonating from the two of them, almost as if they were going to burst into a brawl.

The two proud warriors may have stood there for hours for all Ricochet knew, if it had not been for the intrusion of a petite, busty teenage girl with chestnut hair.

"Rhythm!" The teenage girl cried out, her voice shrill, and ear piercing. The two male teenagers suddenly stiffened even further, if that were possible. Ricochet could detect only the slightest nod from Sirius before the pair flew at each other in a midst of black and white haze. The clashes of gold steel upon black steel resonated throughout the arena, and the battle weary survivors looked up in shock. Despite the earlier friendly notions Ricochet had spied, the current fight was one of no mercy. The two teenagers were fighting to kill. Had Ricochet imagined the earlier exchange? It certainly made more sense. Who had ever heard of silent communicating before anyway?

"Stop it," The teenage girl cried, and then again louder, "Stop!" She moved between the two fighters, and for one horrible moment Ricochet was sure she was going to be hacked to bits. Instead, the two combatants swerved out of control as they struggled to cancel their sword skills before they struck down the innocent girl.

"Damn it Becka, get out of the way," Rhythm demanded, his voice rougher than usual.

"Becka, get behind me," Sirius muttered to the teenager, presumably Becka. She gave Sirius a harsh look, but reluctantly stepped backwards behind him in protection. Once she was in Sirius's shadow she faced Rhythm and began yelling at him.

"You, what the hell do you think you've been doing!" Rhythm barely reacted, simply raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Protecting myself from this madman who I used to call my friend," Rhythm said, his voice blunt, but still cutting deep.

"This madman is still your friend, damnit Rhythm, or have you forgotten that?"

"Actually," Sirius interrupted, "I don't know how much of a friend I can be with a murderer anymore."

"As if you can talk, you murdering hypocrite. It's funny how I don't see Daniel around much these days, isn't it?"

"You bastard," Sirius growled, his face flaring up in anger and pain.

"Don't you dare bring Daniel into this," Becka screamed from behind Sirius. "I don't care if you suddenly started hanging out with a clan of murderers, but you will not sully Daniel's name." Ricochet was stunned into silence as his mind tried to comprehend what he was hearing. Rhythm was part of a murderous clan? It couldn't be… he couldn't possibly be with Perilous.

"So, you followed me then," Rhythm said softly, his eyes directed at Becka, who unconsciously stepped in towards Sirius. "I should've known it'd be you. Too damn curious for your own good, you are."

Ricochet stepped forwards, instantly feeling like an intruder in this recollection of friends, but he had to ask, had to make sure.

"Rhythm, are you trying to say that you're actually part of guild that murders people?"

"I guess it's gone on a bit too long for me to hide it anymore," Rhythm replied with a satanic grin on his face. He turned his back to the room and began to stroll out of the room at an almost amusingly leisurely pace.

"Don't think I've forgiven you Sirius. If you ever try to shadow me again, make no mistake, it will mean war," and with his voice still echoing around the arena, Rhythm disappeared up the stairway that led to the 26th floor.

Sirius slowly sank to the floor, until finally his sword fell to the ground with a despondent clank, and he began swearing and mumbling to himself. Ricochet couldn't make out the individual words, but the context was clear enough.

Damn you Rhythm.

Becka just kept staring at the stairway, as if waiting for Rhythm to pop back down, jumping up and down with confetti in the air and firecrackers going off proclaiming the whole thing to be an elaborate joke. But it wasn't, and she knew it wasn't, and ever so slowly Ricochet could see the hope disappear from her maroon eyes and fade to a miserable, bleak brown.

Ricochet couldn't handle the scene anymore, so he turned his back to the teenagers, and found himself facing the remaining eight builders. Ricochet felt like gagging; if the system would have allowed it, he was sure he would have been. The few faces that were left of his guild looked at him expectantly, waiting for the magic words that would fix everything.

Ricochet opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Was he meant to congratulate the remainder on their victory, or was he meant to recite a sombre speech about those who had been lost? He didn't know. How could he possibly know? Three hours ago the Builders had been the strongest force in the world of SAO. They were only a footstep in front of Arthur and his Knights, but they had still been ahead. Now they were nothing. How was Ricochet meant to build his way out of this world if he didn't have anyone to build with?

The Builders were dead. The guild had to be disbanded.

It was with great difficulty that Ricochet forced his jaw to move and his throat muscles to vibrate accordingly.

"From this day on, let it be known that the Builders were defeated. The Builders are no more. Those that survived this day, leave now, and live your life," and as soon as the declaration left Ricochet's mouth, he made his way towards the gaping stairway and began the long, steep, bittersweet victory march.

* * *

**Whew, I don't know how some people spew out so many ff's with so many words and stuff. I've been killing myself lately trying to motivate myself to get this done.**

**But, the good news is that its coming back to me. That might be because i simply love writing again, or it could be because it's infinitely more enjoyable than studying for ap exams.**

**Hope you enjoyed this melancholy chapter. I remember how in the canon the 25th floor demolished the army, so I kind of wanted to recreate that here, to get a kind of comparison going on between the games. I mean, I wouldn't want to make my story THAT unique. Pshh, we all know modern society shuns uniqueness and creativity :P**

**Anddd I'm rambling.**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


	44. Frail Friendship

"So are you going to tell me the story behind that red head?" Becka asked, as she followed my gaze with her eyes. I snapped out of my stupor at her comment, and blinked dumbly at her.

"There's nothing going on between us," I muttered angrily. I didn't exactly want to talk to Becka about Red right now, especially when Becka was half the reason I was in this mess. Well, less than half, really only a tiny fraction of the mess. Truth was, even if Red hadn't seen me with Becka that night, sooner or later I'd have had to confront Red. I didn't know what was wrong with me. At first, I'd kept my distance from Red to keep her safe from any of those stupid antics I kept finding myself in, but it was painfully obvious to any observer that Red didn't need protecting, and was actually the stronger fighter out of the two of us. Well, maybe not anymore, but at the time that was true.

Time had dragged slowly on, and for some reason I couldn't bring myself to meet with her at all. I felt childish and immature. More often than not my mind was wondering over to her, thinking about what she was doing, and hoping she was still alive. Not that she could die, that girl was like wild fire, simply unstoppable.

But for all the times I thought of her, I always found an excuse to avoid her, always content to watch from a distance, as I was now, from the parched woodwork window of a 27th floor apartment like building I was sharing with Becka and Lily.

"Earth to Richard! Hello, anyone in there? Or do you only go by Sirius these days?" Becka said as she snapped her fingers in front of my vacant eyes. I shook me head swiftly, shaking the stray thoughts from my mind. I tore my gaze from the frail, fiery haired girl who was eating a lonely lunch to face Becka.

"What do you want?" I grumbled, "Stop bothering me."

"Now that's not nice at all. If you didn't want to talk about your love life all you had to do was say so," Becka snapped, as her maroon eyes glared at me in irritation. My own eyes sparked up in response to Becka. I also felt a flush creep upon my face, and I mentally cursed the SAO emotion program for exaggerating such embarrassing emotions.

Before I could formulate a witty response however, Becka began talking again. "Let's talk about someone else then? How about we talk about-"

"Ricochet?" I suggested, interrupting Becka. I could tell by Becka's disgruntled expression that Ricochet was not the person she wanted to talk about.

"I barely know Ricochet. I'm not a freaking monster like the Builders and you and-"

"I'm worried about Ricochet," I said, once again interrupting Becka. I knew what she wanted to talk about, but I didn't want her to bring it up. "I haven't seen or heard about him since the 25th floor. I hope he's holding up well."

"Why are you even worried about Ricochet? Isn't he the one who you claimed killed your friends?" I flinched as I was reminded of the small party of teenagers; Burger, Jaxx, Whisker and Thrash. "And didn't you also get into an argument with Ricochet about how he threatened you through Perilous?"

"Yes, well, that was before he lost everyone," I said, snapping at Becka. "It's kind of hard to imagine him as the enemy when he just lost everyone he cares about." I collapsed into a wooden dining chair, and leaned my forehead into my palms. "I still haven't forgotten about all those things Ricochet did. It's just… hard to be angry at him now." I sighed heavily. "I wonder how Prince and Iris are doing?" I murmured to myself. I knew that they were rising through the ranks of Arthur's Knight's at a respectable rate, but I hadn't talked to them in a long time. Friendships seemed to be such a fragile thing in this strange world.

Becka heard my muttering however, and strode over to me angrily. "So it's okay for you to worry about Prince and Iris and god knows who else, but any mention of Rhythm, your _best friend,_ is taboo?" She demanded, her chestnut hair flaying around angrily.

I stood up from the wooden chair and glared back at Becka. "Just leave it alone! Stop worrying about him, all right! He's gone, he's not coming back, and there's nothing I can do." I gave her one last piercing stare. "There's nothing you can do either."

Becka gave me a harsh look, but I could see her maroon eyes welling up. Before I could say anything to defuse the situation however she stormed out of the room, slamming the wooden door shut behind her with an almighty crash. Sighing to myself, I turned back to the window. I noticed, with a smile, that Red was no longer alone, and that Crystal had joined her for lunch. The vivid red hair contrasted sharply with the platinum white hair, and even from the distance, I could still spot Crystal's stunning violet eyes.

I wondered if Crystal was still investigating her brother's murder. It had been months since the incident, but I was certain that time wasn't a persuading factor for Crystal. As long as she wasn't chasing after Perilous in particular anymore I could hardly complain. I just hoped she wouldn't get herself into any serious trouble. Trouble in this world often resulted in death.

I could still remember when Crystal told me the story of her brother's death. Crystal blamed herself for his death because it had been her brother with the teleportation crystals, and her brother had made it his responsibility to activate hers before his. That hesitation cost him his life. I remember Crystal's voice breaking softly as she told us that all that was left was a sword and shield

I reluctantly drew my eyes from the window and began to outfit myself for the day. I had received more information from my informant on Perilous. There was to be another meeting, at the same location as last time, the stone forest of the 14th floor. Although it hadn't been Perilous who had killed Crystal's brother, the two were made from the same material. The sooner both were stopped, the better for everyone.

* * *

It was not until night had fallen and the cold winds began whipping at my cloak and hair that I spotted Perilous. Once again he walked into the open clearing, surrounded by gaping stone trees and formidable boulders. His hood was pulled down, hiding all of his facial features, except for his lips, which were smirked into a ridiculing smile. I waited patiently, and was rewarded with the arrival of a second player. I couldn't be sure because of all the cloaks and hoods, but I felt certain that this player was the same player I had chased down last time.

This mysterious player was the one who was providing Perilous with top of the class weapons and large amount of col. I still could not figure out the identity of the individual. It had to be someone incredibly high up, someone who fought in most of the boss fights, and someone who had access to the last hit boss rewards. That kind of person simply didn't exist though.

The two greeted each other with a brief handshake, and just when I was expecting one of them to pull out a piece of paper and start writing down their conversation, one of them burst into tears. Perilous, who could be identified by the sickly scythe upon his back, patting the other player on the back as he collapsed to the ground in tears. Perilous began whispering soothing words into the other player's ears. The other player reared back his head, screamed at the sky, and launched his weapon with as much strength as he could at the daunting moon.

The projectile smashed into the ground several metres from my hiding spot, but even from that close distance I had to look twice before I could believe what I was seeing.

It was a hammer.

A one handed hammer that looked like it belonged in a mechanics toolbox. There was only one player I knew who wielded a weapon like that. I glanced back up at the two men, and I saw that as the crying man screamed at the moon, his neck bent backwards, his hood was slipping off. Ever so slowly I watched as the black material fell away, and mysterious, milky moonlight played across Ricochet's face.

I felt disturbed. Everything was clicking together in my head, just like Tetris pieces falling perfectly in line. I could recall the time that Perilous had threatened me, and I accused Ricochet of being the perpetuator. How right I had been. Perilous had warned me to stop helping the Living, and at the time his message had made no sense. Why would a murderer care about the actions of one man helping others? But when Ricochet was added to the calculations it made much more sense.

Ricochet had been the leader of the Builders, a group of incredibly powerful individuals who monopolized resources from the living in order to strengthen themselves even further. I had been going out of the way to give the Living a chance to reap some of those greater rewards, and this had effectively been weakening Ricochet. Ricochet had taken my actions as a direct assault against him, and he had used Perilous as a means to stop me.

I felt so violated, so used. I had followed and trusted Ricochet for so long. We had our disagreements and even our fights, but I always thought he was fighting for a noble reason. Now I didn't know what to think. Did Ricochet even want to leave this world? Had the death of all the Builders been part of his plan?

As I looked at the broken man on the ground crying his heart out, I realized that the death of the Builders had not been planned. Ricochet may have been planning something diabolical with Perilous, and been trading weapons and supplies to the murderer, but he had not wanted his guild to be destroyed.

I glanced down at my hands and noticed that they were shaking. I hadn't realized it was that cold. I rubbed them together to create some heat, but stopped when I realized that there was no programming designed for friction made heat. I also realized that my hands weren't shaking because of the cold.

I gave one last glance at Ricochet and Perilous, and realizing I couldn't handle anymore, I crept into the shadows and fled. My plan had been to discover the unknown players identity, and then either kill him, or expose his identity to the players of SAO. I couldn't do either now. I still thought of Ricochet as a companion, a fellow fighter in this twisted world. I couldn't just go out and stab him; it was unthinkable.

On the other hand, it would be impossible to convince the players that Ricochet, the leader of the former builders, the man who had given everything to the fight, and consequently lost everything, was actually one of the bad guys. No one would believe me, a player who had once been wanted for murder himself.

I couldn't do anything except wait and watch. No one knew about Ricochet's alter identity other than Perilous and I, and I was certain neither of us were eager to divulge that information to the public.

Well, there was one person I was going to tell.

* * *

Becka knew that something was wrong. Richard (she refused to call him Sirius in her mind) had arrived back late last night and had immediately gone to bed. Not that that was in itself unusual. Richard was always running off in the night, coming back sleep deprived in the early morning. No, this time was different. Becka knew that this time was different. How did she know? Because that goddamned idiot was sitting in his wooden chair by the window, staring blankly at the parched wall, rather than at his girlfriend who was outside eating lunch. Richard would never choose to look at a wall over that red headed girl.

When Richard abruptly stood up and left the house without a word, again, something not entirely unusual for him, Becka was worried. Becka knew that Richard had been getting himself into some dangerous situations recently. He wouldn't tell her, but Becka knew. Call it woman's instinct if you want, but she knew. However, Becka wasn't stupid, she knew not to run after Richard. She'd probably end up getting into some sort of trouble, ruining everything Richard had been so carefully planning.

So Becka sat down on the sofa and pouted. What else was she meant to do? She would have sat there and pouted for hours if it hadn't been for Lily.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, sounding like she'd just spotted a dead rat in her cereal box.

"I live here, remember?" Becka snapped back at the seven year old child. Real mature, Becka thought to herself, just go all out and hit her next why don't you?

"Hmph," Lily said rather rudely, before crossing her arms and sitting on the couch beside Becka. The two pouted in silence. Lily was still not happy that Becka had intruded in on her life. The little girl truly believed that Becka was trying to steal her position as Richard's sister.

"Why aren't you following Sirius?" Lily finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Because he doesn't want me with him," Becka said as she sunk into the couch and resumed her pouting.

"But what if he needs you?" Lily asked. It sounded like the words were being forced through her lips, and Becka realized that Lily did not want her to spend time with Richard, but for some reason, Lily seemed to think that Richard needed help this time.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Becka asked excitedly. If she knew what was bothering Richard then she would finally be able to help.

"No," Lily replied glumly, "maybe you should go find out?" she said, and in a childish fashion she jumped off the couch and angrily ran to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. Becka hesitated for only three seconds before launching herself off the couch and sprinting out the front door. She bolted past the innkeeper and ran as fast as her agility stat would allow her to the floor teleporter.

Becka made it with moments to spare, and saw the blue light steal away Richard's body as the teleporter activated. She saw a couple walk towards the teleporter, and scared that she would lose track of Richard, she barged past the two.

"Out of the freaking way!" Becka's voice rang out throughout the town centre, and for a moment the world was deathly silent. Laughter quickly rang out to cover the silence, but Becka wasn't paying attention. She was studying the runes on the teleporter, just like Richard had once done. It had only taken Becka an hour of testing to figure out the trick the next day. She was unfortunately making quite a scene doing this however, and in the back of her mind she knew that by tomorrow the whole population of SAO would probably know about this teleporter tracking trick, but she really didn't care. Right now she just had to catch up to Richard.

Thirty seconds later Becka's body was materializing in the 22nd floor Arabian market district. She knew the district well, but Richard was nowhere to be seen. Knowing that she'd have to take a gamble, she decided to head to the north gate, the only exit to the wilds. Becka just hoped that Richard's business would be outside the city today.

She made it to the gate in what she thought was good time, but Richard was nowhere to be seen. She swore rather loudly, once again attracted the attention of several bystanders, before taking another gamble and sprinting out into the wilds. She was going to find Richard no matter what, even if that meant venturing into the wilds on her own.

Becka ran in no particular direction for what she guessed to be about a mile. It was fairly difficult to determine distances on this sand-ridden desert floor, but she had only run for ten minutes, so a mile seemed accurate. She stopped running when she saw a trio of players in the distance, and praying that they were friendly, she ran over. As she closed the distance between them she realized that one of the player stood out from the rest. He had familiar black hair that Becka knew could only belong to one person.

"Matthew!" Becka called out spontaneously. She froze the instant the words left her mouth however. You're an idiot, Becka told herself, a freaking stupid idiot, why would you call out to a self proclaimed murderer and his possibly murderous friends. But before Becka could rebuke herself any further, two sets of strong arms wrapped themselves around her wrists, preventing her from running. Becka looked up in horror and saw orange player markers that identified these two players as criminals. She glanced at Matthew and was relieved to note that his marker was still innocently green.

"Who the hell is Matthew?"

"I don't have a clue," Rhythm said slowly, his hazel eyes glaring into Becka's maroon eyes. He appeared to be appraising her, as if he'd never met her before. Becka didn't know what was going on, but decided to play along, hoping it would let her live longer.

"What do you mean, you don't have a clue?" the same player asked again.

"It means I don't have a clue, Gandalf," Rhythm said, his voice rough and unforgiving. "God, you couldn't have picked a worse name, could you?"

"Hey, watch what you say!" Said the other player.

"Right, I forgot about you. I guess Mylittleflamingpony is a tiny bit worse," Rhythm said, his voice cold, but Becka could detect a hint of amusement in his voice. It was subtle, and she could only spot it because of years of knowing him, but it was there.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know I was going to be stuck in this stupid game for the rest of my life, did I," Mylittleflamingpony grumbled, his voice trailing to a mutter.

"Never mind names. What should we do with her?" Gandalf said, eyeing Becka eagerly.

"It'd be a shame to kill such a pretty face, but she looks like she has some good gear," Mylittleflamingpony said. Becka suddenly felt that her plan to follow Richard hadn't been the best one. Perhaps she shouldn't have listened to Lily, not that Lily had planned for this to happen.

"Well Rhythm?" Gandalf asked, to which Rhythm jumped slightly in surprise. He had been sending a message to someone on his translucent screen and not paying attention to the conversation. He quickly tapped the send button and closed the menu with a sweep of his fingers.

"Well what?" Rhythm replied, as he ran the palm of his hand against his black sword with blood red inlays.

"What should we do with the girl?" Gandalf asked again persistently.

Rhythm thought for a moment. "Let's take her to Perilous, we'll let him decide," he finally said, apparently having come to a decision. It was not a decision that Becka liked however, and her face paled as she remembered who Perilous was.

"Rhythm you bastard, don't you dare do this to me," Becka screamed, her voice becoming hysterical.

"You sure you don't know her?"

"I'm sure pony lover. Now come on, lets get going."

"I don't see why we have to take her to Perilous. We should just kill her right here, it's not like anyone will notice." Gandalf drew a wicked looking rod with a spiked ball on the end. Before Gandalf could take a step towards Becka a soft hand was pushing against the small of her back, and forcing her to start walking away from the threat.

"We're going to Perilous and that's it. If you don't like it, then bugger off," Rhythm proclaimed as he walked off, his hand still on Becka's back, almost in a reassuring manner. Becka sighed heavily, wishing for the older, simpler days when everyone was still friends.

Any hope Becka had of being rescued by any passersby faded quickly as she realized that they were walking away from the city, and deeper into the wild desert. After ten minutes of agonizingly slow walking Rhythm came to an abrupt halt. I glanced up and saw a small smile on his face, which vanished instantly to a look of cold indifference. I was too afraid to ask why we'd stopped, and I doubted I had the ability to work my throat muscles to speak anyway. My heart was pounding like a hummingbird, and all I could think was, 'why me?'

"Rhythm, get your ass back here." The familiar voice rang out around the empty, dry desert.

"Richard!" I screamed ecstatically. I couldn't help myself. Richard was here, here to save me again, just like he did all those years ago.

"Get out of here Sirius, you're in the way," Rhythm replied, and the cold, uncaring tone in his voice shocked me, and deflated the hope that had risen within me. Richard might be here now, but he was outnumbered three to one. That might not always be impossible odds, but against Rhythm, Richard now stood no chance. Becka suddenly felt like crying. She had gone out, messed things up, and now she was about to get Richard, her last living friend, killed.

Gandalf and 'thou who loves ponies' stepped forwards, weapons raised to strike Sirius but stopped when the flat of a two handed claymore pressed against their chests.

"Leave him," whispered Rhythm, "he's mine." Rhythm stepped forwards and began circling around Becka, trying to get a clear shot at Sirius. The two boys were each about three meters away from either side of Becka, and were continuing to slowly circle. It appeared that Rhythm didn't want to attack her after all, and was waiting until she was no longer in the way.

At least that's what she thought. Becka screamed as Rhythm's sword tip lit up in a nefarious black glow, and the next instant he was nothing more than a ghost as he sped towards her. Rhythm's black blade whipped into existence, trailing along the ground, and his wrists flicked up as he began to launch it upwards at Becka's exposed chest. The cut would have lowered Becka's health to zero, ultimately killing her, if it hadn't been for the golden sword that interrupted the attack, using the exact same sword skill.

Becka glanced up at the two boys, and saw fierce determination in their eyes. They weren't playing around, they were fighting to kill, but when she saw the playful smiles on their face she realized something.

The two boys slid a foot out, and their swords collided in the air, this time above Becka, as they completed their two combo sword skill. Before the pulsing glowing lights faded from either of them, they twisted on the point of their toes and slipped right into the next sword skill. The two of them shot off horizontally like a lightning bolt, their sword tips pointed at the two unsuspecting observers.

Becka had known when she saw the smiles. The two boys weren't fighting each other. They never had been. Their eyes shone with a maddening, blood lust driven glint, but it wasn't directed at one another. It was directed at those who had dared try to harm Becka.

Sirius was the faster of the two, unsurprisingly, as he was the ultimate glass cannon, and so his strike landed on the two murderers first. Their weapons were in their hands, and they managed to block the attack, but it was a clumsy manoeuvre, and the two were left wide open for Rhythm. Rhythm flew in like an eagle, and his twinkling ruby blade dug into chest of Gandalf, halving his health.

Rhythm then swung around, using his left foot as a pivot, and drove his blade into the flaming pony's chest, spearing him in a rapier like fashion. Gandalf had recovered from his injury, and was preparing his steel rod for a counterattack. The steel rod never landed on its target however, as Sirius had plunged his sword into the ground, releasing a weak, pulsing shockwave that caused all of the players to flinch.

All of the players, that was, except for Rhythm, who was currently soaring in the air over Gandalf's head, avoiding the ground based attack by jumping at the last moment. Rhythm's foot hit the ground, and his two handed sword swung around him in an arc, slicing both enemies in one swift movement. The two stared at each other with looks of pure horror and fear before shattering into polygons. The battle was over seconds after it had begun. Rhythm now sported an orange player marker, proof of him killing two other players, but Sirius's was thankfully green, as he had only activated the friendly fire warning.

The two boys looked at each other, and without a moment's hesitation, slapped their hands together in victory. In any other situation it would have seemed incredibly corny, and incredibly insulting to the recently deceased, but in this case Becka couldn't have cared less.

"You two," she shouted angrily at the boys, who both flinched at the sound of her voice, "How long has this been going on?"

The friends looked at each other sheepishly. It was ultimately Rhythm that answered.

"Since the 11th boss fight," he said, his tone apologetic. It didn't appear to have any effect on Becka though.

"For two and a half months! For almost three freaking months you guys had this whole show going on, and you decided not to tell me! How could you!" Her shouting suddenly turned into crying, and before the boys could react she was flying towards them, arms outstretched as she tried to hug the two.

"I'm so glad it was just a show," Becka cried, as we all held each other in a three way hug. "I was so scared and worried."

"Shh shh," Sirius whispered, "it's alright now, every things alright."

"You'll never do this to me again, right?" Becka asked in desperation.

"Never again," said Rhythm.

"We promise," Sirius confirmed.

As Becka continued to cry, and her friends continued to hold and support her, she realized something incredibly important. Friendship, true friendship, was something harder to shatter than anything else.

* * *

**Finally, Rhythm is back. I missed that guy, and it was damn hard writing him to be a bad guy. I don't even know if it payed off now that I'm looking back. There'll be more explanations and devious plans in the next chapter. Hope I haven't scared everyone off :P**

**Cheers**

**-Council**


End file.
